Mohamad, who is defence minister, had told the Dewan Rakyat this afternoon that this was in stark contrast to the 1970s, when Malaysia was the top-ranked country military-wise in the region. NSTP/ASYRAF HAMZAH

KUALA LUMPUR: The Defence Ministry was forced to scramble into damage control mode following a claim by its minister, Mohamad Sabu, that Malaysia’s defence assets were the ‘lowest ranked’ in Southeast Asia.

Mohamad, who is defence minister, had told the Dewan Rakyat this afternoon that this was in stark contrast to the 1970s, when Malaysia was the top-ranked country military-wise in the region.

“In terms of our navy, air force and others in Southeast Asia, we are at the bottom.

“Vietnam is far ahead, Indonesia is on top while Malaysia is the lowest.

“It is embarrassing right now for us (on the international stage), but I will work to make Malaysia great again, number one again,” said Mohamad during the Ministers’ Question Time in the Dewan Rakyat.

MINDEF, however, hastily issued a clarification in the evening.

Mohamad’s press secretary, Amin Iskandar, said the minister did not mean that Malaysia’s military was weaker than those of other countries in the region.

“The Armed Forces is ready and prepared to defend the country's sovereignty from any threat and invasion.

“However, there is a need for the Armed Forces to strengthen its military assets so they remain abreast with the latest technology and current needs,” Amin said in a brief statement.

Mohamad had, in the Dewan Rakyat, earlier said interruptions to defence allocations have made it difficult for the ministry to carry out projects and the necessary maintenance.

He said the Armed Forces had asked for RM1.8 billion for the maintenance of the Sukhoi jets, but only RM1.1 billion.

“These assets are all old, and need lots of allocations to be restored.

“I can blame the previous government, but that won’t solve any problems.

“We will fix all weaknesses and we will not repeat past mistakes,” he had told the Dewan Rakyat.

Last month, Mohamad came under severe criticism after he revealed that only four out of the 28 Russian-made fighter jets owned by the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) are able to fly.

He said that from the 8 Sukhoi Su-30MKM and 10 MiG-29 jets, only four Sukhoi were “able to fly well”, with the rest under repair.

Several bloggers and netizens took issue with the claim, and criticised the defence minister for publicly airing the country’s alleged defence frailties, and urged him to think first before speaking.

Mohamad, meanwhile, posted a message on his Twitter account this evening.

He uploaded an image of him with the quote “Saya tak pernah honeymoon. Saya kerja sejak hari pertama masuk pejabat.” (I’ve never taken a honeymooon. I’ve been working since the day I took office).

He also wrote: “Since the first day, we have been working day and night to ensure that the people’s mandate given during GE14 is not wasted.”