No need to change policy on construction of national security assets, says Tok Mat

LANGKAWI: There is no need to change the policy regarding the construction of national security assets, said Defence Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan.

Following issues related to the construction of the littoral combat ship (LCS), he said the Defence Ministry would focus on empowering governance to ensure such issues did not recur.

"It is not a policy problem... there is no issue with policy, that policy is for the expansion of the national defence industry.

"(That issue) is more towards management problems. So, as of today, there is no need to change that policy. What is important is management, strengthening the management is our objective.

"The existing policy will continue," he told a media conference after inspecting the maritime segment exhibition site in conjunction with the Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace Exhibition 2023 (LIMA 2023) at Resort World Langkawi, here, on Monday (May 22).

He added that the existing policy would be continued and managed well and the local defence industry also need not feel apprehensive about the policy brought by the government.

Commenting on proposals for the government to use the services of a private shipyard instead of a government-linked company (GLC) for the construction of shipping assets, Mohamad said that the parties that would be involved in the process would have their track record taken into account as well as their ability to turn the given project into a success.

"We also give to private shipyards... we will give according to the abilities and capabilities of these shipyard companies, which have a good track record.

"Again, I want to stress here, we do not want to have problems once we put our trust in them and the assets cannot be completed," he said. - Bernama