Malaysia has certainly woken up from a deep slumber since that historical day of May 9 2018.
Matters where in the past 60 years were kept away from the Rakyat has begun to open our eyes, and it is precisely this, that ensures Malaysia Baharu regains the lost and renewed energy from issues as mundane as finance, education, agriculture, many others and of course there is defense.
Going back to the the Japanese Occupation, the British provided Malaya with adequate protection, in the eyes of the people, the might of the empire would have kept Malaya safe. We all know now how men on bicycles pushed the great British Army all the way to Singapore, only to put up a dire line of defense which cracked indefensibly.
The recent brouhaha when Minister of Defense informed the August house of the true state of preparedness of the Military is really telling.
Malaysia’s first line of defense has a serious cink in the armour and the fault does not lie with the Incoming Minister. Like Finance, and all other ministries where the current Government must prepare itself for the years to come, The Ministry of Defense is no different. It is alarming to know now how prepared we are, and such a false sense of security has been laid down to the Rakyat.
It wasn’t long ago that we had a military incursion by a bunch of rag tag para military which caused serious damage. We lost heroes, yet against a bunch of terrorist, where we used our Howitzers, and helicopters and jets, and APCs, we were made to toil to fight them on our soil. That is the real scenario of how defense has been taken far too lightly by previous administrators.
The question now is no longer WHY, HOW and WHO to blame, but it is our duty to put all this back into order. To prepare our country in all matters, and with the threat of escalating tensions especially in the South China Sea, The honourable Minister is right to say that NO NUCLEAR WARSHIPS will be allowed near our shores, and with that a strong message that a Sovereign State like Malaysia can well stand on our own amidst our ASEAN neighbours.
We now know our true state of preparedness, and lets not waste our time on matters which are best left to professionals and start working to ensure that all these past mistakes are made right, and to put Malaysia proudly as an Asia Tiger in all matters, Defense no less, and be ready for any eventualities.