Building Military Power through a Whole-of-Government and Whole-of-Society Approach

THIS study identifies gaps that cause challenges for the defence industry in building military power. It has identified challenges and proposed a way forward to improve military development through the defence industry approach.

Through the National Defence Industry Policy (NDIP), the defence image-building aims to earn public trust in defending the country’s security.

It has identified issues that hinder the defence industry’s ability to execute the government's intent under the NDIP effectively and efficiently.

The study highlights that the stability and effectiveness of the defence industry have a direct and significant impact on the implementation of the WOGOS approach in developing military power.

There are many issues concerning the defence industry, including the effectiveness of communication, raising stakeholders’ awareness, introducing an adequate budget, enhancing human capital development, aligning policies and implementing procedural changes.

Discussions ​Defence industries have become the bridge linking the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) and the MAF in maintaining and developing their capabilities. Malaysia's defence industry growth is being held back due to policies and rules inconsistencies, contractual issues and technological dependency issues, where it has created a significant gap within the industry.

They also face financial constraints, as they lack sufficient funds to invest in defence technology. All the issues have affected the effectiveness and efficiency of governance management in the defence industries. It leads to corruption and the misuse of power in the procurement process.

As a result, all procurement processes are being frozen until the Defence Ministry releases the mitigation plan to create a transparent procurement framework.

The widening gap between government strategic needs and operational capabilities is curbing Malaysia's military power.

Several factors govern the issue, including heavy dependence on foreign technology, legacy strategic equipment that leads to obsolescence, governance issues, local defence industry capabilities and government policy.

It causes many issues regarding maintenance, supply chain capabilities, currency exchange rates, and technological transfer.

Government priorities focus on budget allocation, holding back the development of military power capabilities. It is always a tug-of-war over funding priorities between health, education and the economy versus military power projection requirements.

Through WOGOS, the military will be able to mobilise the resources it needs without permanently owning them, thus reducing the operational costs. The key obstacles that prevent the WOGOS approach from achieving the government's ultimate objective are interagency silos, agency-centricity, the private sector's reluctance to engage in defence industry development and low public awareness.

The government has released the NDIP 2026 to 2030 as a strategic framework to achieve self-reliance, innovation and technological advancement in the defence industry.

It aligns with Defence Ministry's and the government's aspirations to increase research and development in defence technology, reduce dependence on foreign capabilities and become self-reliant in the defence ecosystem.

Through NDIP, the defence image-building aims to earn the public's trust in defending the country's security. NDIP is a strategic approach to developing national defence industries and simultaneously strengthening military capabilities. BIP has not created an effective communication pipeline to cascade down the intent of the NDIP to the stakeholders.

MAF is also facing the allocation of budget issues to maintain all strategic assets within the MAF. Even though the budget increases yearly, it does not reflect the actual requirements set by the MAF. The budget should be further broken down into details to represent the actual requirement.

To ensure that the NDIP contributes meaningfully to Malaysia’s long-term military power and national security, a comprehensive policy restructuring is necessary. The NDIP should be recalibrated to reflect Malaysia’s actual strategic environment, industrial capability, technological readiness, fiscal capacity, and institutional strengths.

Relatedly, the NDIP target of achieving self-reliance by 2030 should be reassessed through a phased and prioritised implementation model. It would enable Malaysia to identify priority capability areas, sequence investments more effectively, and establish measurable milestones based on short, medium, and long-term goals. This would make the pursuit of self-reliance more practical, manageable and credible.

Equally important is realigning all major national policies to support a common strategic objective. Fragmentation of the policy ecosystem weakens coherence, causes duplication, and limits strategic impact. Therefore, these frameworks should be harmonised under a shared national agenda that creates a clearer national direction and ensures that military power is developed not in isolation, but as part of a broader national resilience architecture.

At the institutional level, procedural realignment between the Defence Ministry and the Finance Ministry is essential. This realignment would reduce bureaucratic inefficiencies and improve the state’s ability to translate policy into operational capability.

In support of this, the budget for the MAF should be enhanced to reflect the growing complexity of the national and regional security environment. A stronger defence budget is not merely a matter of increasing expenditure, but of investing strategically in force modernisation, defence research and development, maintenance and sustainment, talent development, and industrial innovation.

Furthermore, all related stakeholders should be involved in the development of military power engagement in refining the NDIP's conceptual and operational approaches. A more inclusive approach would improve the quality of policy formulation and strengthen stakeholder ownership.

Finally, an effective, institutionalised, and continuous line of communication must be established among all stakeholders involved in the NDIP ecosystem. A coordinated communication mechanism would help synchronise priorities, improve transparency, resolve inter-agency friction, and build trust among stakeholders.

​Therefore, a restructured NDIP, supported by phased implementation, policy alignment, institutional coordination, adequate funding, inclusive stakeholder participation, and effective communication, would provide a stronger foundation for Malaysia to pursue defence self-reliance in building military power in a manner that is practical, sustainable, and strategically meaningful.

Brigadier General Nor Azmi Bin Abdul Rahman RMAF is a senior officer in the Royal Malaysian Air Force and currently attending the National Resilience College at the National Centre for Defence Studies (PUSPAHANAS) Putrajaya. The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect those of Sinar Daily.