Military Industry Development of Malaysia and Indonesia Armed Forces: a Comparative Study

According to Mohamad Sahu, the previous "Malaysian Minister of Defence", in a recorded parliamentary statement, Malaysia's defence capability is among the weakest in the Southeast Asia region. The ex-minister also cited how Malaysia was a pioneer in the region's defence industry, but today, the country has been left so far behind by other states that started later, such as Indonesia. Many developing nations still allocate substantial portion of their financial resources as defence budget, particularly in developing their indigenous defence industry, motivated by the realisation that there is a direct relation between defence industry and the self-reliant characteristic of their armed forces, in the sense that it would improve their defence capability. Malaysia and Indonesia are two Southeast Asian countries which have taken the efforts to achieve the main objective of defence industry self-reliance. The issue however, is whether it is true that Malaysia has been left behind, compared to Indonesia. This research, conducted qualitatively, has been underlined by thre.e objectives, which are to identify the current status of Indonesia and Malaysia's defence industry, to compare Indonesia and Malaysia's defence industry progress and to analyse how Malaysia's defence industry can be consolidated to address the issues that exist. According to the findings, comparatively, Indonesia has made more achievements compared to Malaysia, such as building its own submarines, through collaboration with foreign partners. The findings also show that both nations have attempted to consolidate their defence industry mainly to accommodate their force modernisation, though Malaysia began much earlier than Indonesia. The research also finds that there are many lessons that Malaysia could derive from Indonesia's defence industry, if it wishes to consolidate its own defence industry. The research concludes that to a certain extent, it is true that Malaysia's defence industry is left behind compared to Indonesia's due to various factors.

Menurut Mohamad Sabu, "Menteri Pertahanan Malaysia" sebelum ini, dalam kenyataan parlimen yang direkodkan, keupayaan pertahanan Malaysia adalah antara yang paling lemah di Asia Tenggara. Bekas menteri itujuga memetik bagaimana Malaysia menjadi perintis dalam industri pertahanan rantau ini. Namun, pada hari ini, negara telah ketinggalan begitu jauh oleh negeri-negeri lain yang bermula kemudian, seperti Indonesia. Banyak negara membangun masih memperuntukkan sebahagian besar sumber kewangan mereka kepada belanjawan pertahanan, terutamanya dalam membangunkan industri pertahanan peribumi mereka, didorong oleh kesedaran bahawa terdapat hubungan langsung antara industri pertahanan dan ciri-ciri berdikari angkatan tentera mereka dalam perasaan bahawa ia akan meningkatkan keupayaan pertahanan mereka. Malaysia dan Indonesia adalah dua negara Asia Tenggara yang telah berusaha untuk mencapai objektif utama berdikari dalam industri pertahanan. Isunya bagaimanapun, adakah benar Malaysia ketinggalan berbanding Indonesia. Penyelidikan ini, yang dijalankan secara kualitatif, telah digariskan oleh tiga objektif: untuk mengenal pasti status semasa industri pertahanan Indonesia dan Malaysia, untuk membandingkan kemajuan industri pertahanan Indonesia dan Malaysia dan untuk menganalisis bagaimana industri pertahanan Malaysia boleh disatukan untuk menangani isu-isu yang wujud. Mengikut penemuan, secara perbandingan, Indonesia telah mencapai lebih banyak pencapaian berbanding Malaysia, seperti membina kapal selarnnya melalui kerjasama dengan rakan kongsi asing. Keputusanjuga menunjukkan bahawa kedua-dua negara telah cuba untuk menyatukan industri pertahanan mereka terutamanya untuk menampung pemodenan pasukan mereka, walaupun Malaysia bermula lebih awal daripada Indonesia. Penyelidikan itu juga mendapati bahawa terdapat banyak pengajaran yang boleh diperoleh Malaysia daripada industri pertahanan Indonesia jika ia ingin menyatukan industri pertahanannya. Kajian itu menyimpulkan bahawa, pada tahap tertentu, memang benar industri pertahanan Malaysia ketinggalan berbanding Indonesia kerana pelbagai faktor.