Military assets ownership must be balanced for country's development: Hishammuddin

LANGKAWI: The ownership of military assets must be balanced with other things deemed important for the country's development, says Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein.
At the moment, he said, there were questions over a plan by the ministry to purchase a new fighter jet under its multi-role combat aircraft (MRCA) replacement programme, to replace the Russian-made MiG-29 aircraft currently used by the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF).
"Indeed, there is a need for us (to purchase) but we have to prioritise and balance up our affordability with other necessities that might be more urgent," he said at the 2050 National Transformation (TN50) Dialogue here today.
Also present was Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin. The dialogue, themed 'The Future of Malaysia's Defence' was held in conjunction with the Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace Exhibition 2017 (Liam'17).
In March 2013, Malaysia shortlisted five fighter jets, namely the Eurofighter Typhoon built by the European consortium comprising BAE Systems, EADS and Finmeccanica; Dassault Aviation Rafale; Boeing's F/A 18E/F Super Hornet; Russian-made Sukhoi Su-30 and Swedish-made SAAB JAS-39 Gripen. — Bernama