PARLIAMENT | Defence Minister Mohamad Sabu said today he has no intention to belittle the capability of the Malaysian Armed Forces with his controversial remark at a recent international summit in Singapore.
"The capability and readiness of our national defence force are always tip-top in facing all sorts of threats, especially external (threats)," he told Dewan Rakat during a question-and-answer session today.
Mohamad, who is widely known as Mat Sabu, has courted flake for uttering 'we can't fight them' during 18th Asia Security Summit on June 1. He was grilled on this in Parliament today by Hassan Abdul Karim (Harapan-Pasir Gudang).
"Are you aware that your remark, 'we can't fight them', not only demoralises the military, but also patriotic Malaysians?" Hassan asked the minister.
In his reply, Mohamad questioned if Malaysia ready to fight a powerhouse.
"Yes, we can say many things. When I was an opposition politician, I could boast, but we have to look at (our) capability. We can prioritise peace, so why the need for war?" he said.
"If we want to flex our power when we are not strong at all, we will be toyed with (at the end).
"That's why we prioritise dialogue and diplomacy. We want to prevent any war because when we say we are ready for war, we must be equipped with the capability," Mohamad added.
[More to follow] - Mkini
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