Policies
Comprehensive Security
Strengthen our preparation to protect national sovereignty through a holistic approach. The ever-expanding defence and security landscape exposes Malaysia to increasing threats – cyber, health, nutrition and so on. Therefore, a cross-government approach needs to be established.
Latest Articles
Defending a Maritime Nation: Whither the Future of MAF Joint Force
Let me begin by congratulating MIDAS for the success of organizing this MIDAS conference. I have had the chance to follow some of the discussions today and I can attest…
Can Malaysia find a ‘third way’?
Once you see yourself in relation to your geography, you’re no longer talking about Malay, Chinese or Indian. You need to be talking about Malaysia and the rest of the world.
Malaysia’s Role in Promoting Peace and Stability in the Region
Southeast Asia has always watched the development in Korean peninsula and Northeast Asia closely. Needless to say, instability in Korean peninsula will gravely affect our peace and prosperity. Malaysia experienced first hand being used as an illicit transit destination to bypass sanctions, discovered in the aftermath of the gruesome assassination of Kim Jong Nam at KLIA 2.
Mountains Under the Sea
Here in Malaysia, in Bahasa Melayu, we refer to our homeland as “tanah air”, a compound word in which tanah refers to land, and air refers to the sea. It is an inherently maritime conceptualisation of our nationhood, speaking to our inseparable connection to the sea.
Beyond US-China tensions: What else can the rest of us do?
We need to “resurrect” the notion of Asia. ASEAN Centrality is great, and as long as ASEAN gets its acts together, it is a great power house. But Asia the label is something that we shouldn’t lose either.
Future force
The change of government in May 2018 provides a rare opportunity for Malaysia to revisit some old assumptions and make new ones to move forward. One of the earliest major decisions that will have huge long-term impact by Defence Minister Mat Sabu was to commit the new government to present a Defence White Paper to chart the future.
Armed forces the last resort
We need to realise that the military is the last resort, not the first responders. A military man in uniform is of course a very impressive persona and this certainly has a deterrence effect on all sorts of criminals or in any disaster relief effort.
Changing Thinking Habits to Make Our Cities Resilient
We should therefore think of building decent public and private housing in the inner city for young people to rent. Seriously, not everyone needs to own a house. But everyone does need shelter.
On the urgent need to deepen Malaysia’s understanding of contemporary China and China’s understanding of Southeast Asia
To get the policy mix right at all time, just as Malaysia needs to study China more, China needs to study Southeast Asians more too.
The Defence White Paper: Preparing for Future Defence Challenges
Speech by Deputy Defence Minister, Liew Chin Tong at The Defence White Paper Workshop on 8th March 2019 This is the first in a series of several workshops to be…
Raising Resilient Future Leaders
COMMENCEMENT SPEECH BY DEPUTY DEFENCE MINISTER LIEW CHIN TONG AT THE ROYAL MILITARY COLLEGE GRADUATION CEREMONY ON 22ND DECEMBER 2018 Selamat sejahtera. I am thankful to be given this unique…
The military as a professional, non-partisan force
Adapted from a speech by Deputy Defence Minister Liew Chin Tong at The Graduation Ceremony of the Malaysian Command and Staff Course (Kursus Memerintah dan Staf) in Wisma Perwira on…