LAHAD DATU, Oct 20 — The Ministry of Defence (Mindef) is strengthening Malaysia’s security and sovereignty in Sabah through ‘future force’ planning that will take place over a period of five starting next year.
Its minister, Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin said among the plans will be increasing the number of battalions in two brigades in the state as well as setting up an artillery regiment.
“Normally, one brigade has three battalions but for Sabah, we will add another battalion to the two brigades, making it four battalions for each involved brigade. This means two battalions from the peninsula will be transferred to Sabah.
“We will establish a 155mm artillery regiment; we currently only have a 105mm regiment in Sabah. We will also add four coastal radar systems, initially planned to be two, which will be placed in the Ops Pasir area, including Lahad Datu,” he said.
He said this to reporters after visiting Pos Tanduo here today.
Mohamed Khaled said his team is paying close attention to the question of security in the Sabah region, and this hasn’t included strengthening the Royal Malaysia Navy.
“We are in the process of acquiring a mobile base in Semporna, namely the Tun Sharifah Rodziah Naval Base, which is currently static, and this base will expire next year. We are also acquiring ships and aircraft,” he said.
Besides that, he also said that he also gave his views on increasing the use of high technology in operations, for example, in the four sectors of Ops Pasir, such as Lahad Datu, because the area of responsibility is quite extensive.
Among them, drones include the use of artificial intelligence (AI) technology to facilitate the tasks of military personnel in carrying out their responsibilities, and we at the ministry level will continue to plan,” he also said.
According to him, the strengthening of national security and sovereignty also has a positive impact on the tourism sector in Sabah, and it is understood that this year, approximately 1.7 million tourists visited the state.
“The presence of Ops Pasir, with its defined areas of responsibility, can ensure that Sabah’s economy runs smoothly. Imagine if there were no operations like this, smuggling or unsafe situations might occur, but today the situation is calm and safe,” he added. — Bernama