BUKIT MERTAJAM: Malaysia has no immediate plans to buy military equipment from Turkey which has offered to help the country develop a defence industry, Defence Minister Mohamad Sabu said.
However, he said if Malaysia were to shop for arms, it would consider consider unmanned aerial vehicles and military transport equipment from Turkey.
“We are impressed by their high-level of military equipment. After all, they are Nato-level,” Mohamad, who is fondly known as Mat Sabu, told reporters on the sidelines of an event here today.
Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who recently concluded a trip to Nato member Turkey, said Ankara had pledged to offer Malaysia whatever it needs to develop a defence industry.
“Not many countries are willing to transfer technologies to us. But Turkey has promised to give whatever we want when it comes to technology, manufacturing and so on,” he was quoted as saying.
Mohamad said Turkey has strong credentials in the defence industry.
“Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan himself said Turkey is ready to cooperate with us in the defence field. With Turkey’s vote of confidence in Malaysia and willingness to help develop a defence industry here, we are set to do this together,” he said.
Earlier, Mohamad was feted by his alma mater, SMK Bukit Mertajam, where he had completed his secondary education.
On a separate issue, he said the search for two soldiers who went missing at an islet near Langkawi on July 19 will resume once there are new leads.
The search for Sarawakians David Edmund Rapi, 39, and Moses Logers, 25, who were last deployed at Pulau Perak, Kedah, was temporarily halted on Friday.- FMT
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.