“Turkey is one of the countries we are working with on this,” he said during question time at the Dewan Rakyat here today.

“The prime minister and I have visited their aerospace (centre) and they have technology that is on par with developed countries.”

He was responding to Takiyuddin Hassan (PAS-Kota Bharu) who asked about intelligence-sharing with countries such as Turkey to produce armoured cars.

Mohamad, popularly known as Mat Sabu, said his ministry understands the importance of being independent by developing weapons and vehicles locally.

He said his ministry is encouraging local companies to carry out initiatives to fulfil these needs.

“But our limitations are on the installation and manufacturing of rifle parts,” he said, attributing this to the limited research and development (R&D) capabilities of companies in Malaysia.

He added that demand is not on par with returns on investment, and that local companies have failed to convince foreigners to buy weapons made in Malaysia, which is making it difficult for them to expand investments.

He said his ministry is carrying out R&D programmes to develop weapons used by the ministry, adding that more research is needed as modern technology such as drones is needed.