Kuala lumpur: The Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) will review and restructure all procurement procedures and processes within its system, as part of five key frameworks for reforming the ministry's procedures and governance. Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin announced these initiatives, highlighting the ministry's commitment to enhancing integrity and responsibility in its operations.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, MINDEF will establish an integrity and trust board to oversee matters related to integrity enhancement and the execution of responsibilities. The ministry aims to leverage digitalisation to promote transparency and integrity in all processes and projects involving government funds. This includes the optimisation of artificial intelligence to facilitate analysis and forecasting in procurement processes, such as cost comparison, specifications, and efficiency benchmarking with other countries. Furthermore, AI will assist in identifying the competencies of serving officers.
To address governance gaps, MINDEF will implement an ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) framework for the ministry and the Malaysian Armed Forces (MAF), aligning with the sustainability agenda. These measures are designed to eliminate opportunities for corruption and abuse of power, improve service efficiency, and enhance risk detection.
Mohamed Khaled emphasized the importance of developing a robust operational system driven by advanced technology within a framework of sustainability and resilience. He assured that MINDEF would continue to explore initiatives to strengthen the credibility of the ministry and the MAF. He also stressed that the ministry would provide full cooperation to authorities to ensure independent and transparent investigations of any implicated parties in corruption or abuse of power.
He further reiterated the government's priority to restore the credibility of the MAF and public confidence, asserting that this is a significant responsibility of the Ministry of Defence. Mohamed Khaled assured that cases of immoral conduct, including hedonism and administrative misconduct, will be addressed by the military court.
During the briefing, he confirmed that the national defence system remains intact and fully operational despite facing several cases of corruption and abuse of power. He stated that there is no disruption to national defence operations and that any delayed procurement processes will be coordinated with the Ministry of Finance to ensure MAF operations remain unaffected.