KUALA LUMPUR: His Majesty Sultan Ibrahim, King of Malaysia, has taken aim at former military officials, accusing some of them of prioritising personal gain over national service.
“I believe all this is happening because the Defence Ministry is full of ‘agents’ or former generals who have become ‘salesmen’,” His Majesty said in a rare rebuke.
According to a post on his official Facebook account, Sultan Ibrahim also warned that if every procurement must go through middlemen’s pricing, budget allocations would never be sufficient.
“So don’t try to bluff me,” he added.
His Majesty further decreed: “If you do not wish to listen to me, then after this, I shall no longer speak.”
The King, who serves as the Supreme Commander of the Malaysian Armed Forces, also ordered the Defence Ministry to scrap its plan to purchase 30-year-old Black Hawk helicopters.
He reminded the ministry not to repeat past procurement mistakes.
“Do not repeat past mistakes, such as when we bought Skyhawk aircraft second-hand,” he said.
© New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd
