KUALA LUMPUR, April 13 - Defence Minister Datuk Seri Zahid Hamidi signalled the administration's intention to modernise the armed forces and to improve the welfare of servicemen and acknowledged the country's soldiers had faced neglect.
He told reporters today on his first day at work that he would work hard to ensure that the welfare of Malaysia's servicemen was prioritized.
"I have three priorities; the first is that I would like to safeguard the welfare of those that are in service and second, I would like to safeguard the welfare of those that have retired.
"Thirdly, is to give support to the families of those in service and to give a proper education to the children of those in service," he said in a press conference after he officially took over his new portfolio as the defence minister.
Zahid added that he believed Malaysia's defence doctrine would have to be reviewed."We must plan to change in the coming decades so that our defence is as modern as the rest of the world.
"There are also defence doctrines that I must review. This doctrine has been practiced since 1993 but it needs a new approach. We have to re-look into the doctrine. We no longer want to engage in war. We want to defend the country through several approaches that is suitable with international conventions," he explained.
The Defence Ministry is also looking to work together with the Ministry of Education to help strengthened cadet schools.
"The cadet schools will increase the involvement of students which will strengthen the institution of defence at school levels. At the same time, we will identify smart students who are members of the cadet school so that they will recruited by the military.
"We will also look at the Universiti Pertahanan Malaysia and it's modules. We will establish departments that will look into regional security, the defence industry, and the process of gathering and analyzing information," he said.
Zahid also mooted the idea of a joint armed forces from Muslim nations but said that the final decision will depend on the Cabinet.
"I like the proposal by OIC to have an agreement to establish a defence force from Muslim nations that is similar to Nato. I believe this is necessary but it must have approval from the cabinet first," he said.
The Defence Minister also denied that there are any racial prejudice in the military's recruitment policy, pointing out that "there is no interest from the Chinese and Indian community."
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