LANGKAWI: The Defence White Paper, an action plan on the drafting of policies related to national defence and security, is expected to be completed before August this year, Deputy Defence Minister Senator Liew Chin Tong said here today.
He said the white paper is being drawn up by the ministry and will be tabled in Parliament.
“As the Defence Minister (Mohamad Sabu) announced, we hope the Cabinet can discuss the white paper several times and accept it for tabling in Parliament in September,” he told Bernama.
Liew had spoken at a question-and-answer session on the Defence White Paper on the sidelines of the Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace 2019 (LIMA’19) exhibition at the Mahsuri International Exhibition Centre (MIEC), here.
Last Tuesday, Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, when opening LIMA’19, said the white paper is an important contribution to the defence landscape of Malaysia and represents a strategic outlook for the sector.
The document is to provide a clear explanation of the role of every agency and organisation, as well as the people in the effort to maintain national security.
Chief of Defence Forces, Gen Tan Sri Zulkifli Zainal Abidin, said the white paper would provide clear guidelines on the roles and duties of the military, police and other security agencies.
LIMA’19, which began on Tuesday, ends tomorrow. It is being held at two venues – the MIEC and Resorts World Langkawi (RWL).
A total of 406 companies – 206 local and 200 foreign – related to defence participated in LIMA’19. — Bernama
