Malaysia’s King Warns Defence Ministry

Defence affairs - Def-Geopolitics

Malaysia’s King, Sultan Ibrahim, has delivered an unusually blunt warning to the Ministry of Defence, instructing officials not to repeat past mistakes in acquiring ageing second-hand military platforms that could endanger the lives of service members, describing such decisions as putting “our pilots in flying coffins.”

As Supreme Commander of the Malaysian Armed Forces (MAF), the King reminded the Ministry that history has already shown the dangers of relying on used weapon systems purchased from abroad.

“Do not repeat the mistakes of the past when we bought second-hand Skyhawks,” Sultan Ibrahim said during his Royal Address.

“Do we want to put our pilots in ‘flying coffins’? Think carefully. I believe this happens because the Ministry of Defence is filled with agents or former generals acting as salesmen, and even textile companies are now trying to sell drones.”

The monarch cautioned that if acquisitions continue to be brokered through middlemen, available defence allocations would never be sufficient.

“Don’t try to fool me. If you refuse to listen, I will stop offering advice in the future,” he warned in remarks later shared on his official Facebook page.

The rebuke was delivered during the 60th Anniversary Parade of Malaysia’s elite Special Forces Regiment, Grup Gerak Khas, at Kem Iskandar in Mersing, Johor.

It marks one of the strongest royal interventions on defence procurement in recent years, underscoring growing concern about Malaysia’s military modernisation path.