Liew Chin Tong said the DWP – which outlined Malaysia’s strategic goals as well as the necessary reforms over the next decade – was conceived as a “whole-of-government” document to be passed by Parliament in a bipartisan manner.

Extensive consultations, he added, were made with various government agencies and ministries, as well as with the then opposition.

According to Liew, the DWP was presented by then defence minister Mohamad Sabu in 2019, and it was endorsed by Ismail Sabri Yaakob, who was then the opposition leader.

He added that when Ismail was appointed the defence minister in March 2020, under the Perikatan Nasional-led (PN) government, he assured the public and the Armed Forces that the reforms advocated by the DWP would continue.

However, Hishammuddin made no mention of the DWP in his first four-page media statement on his policy direction upon his return to the defence ministry, Liew said.

“Hishammuddin should follow Ismail’s example by adopting the DWP as a bipartisan broad policy objective that would not be affected by changes of government or ministers,” the former deputy defence minister said in a statement.

He went on to say that Malaysia is “geographically right at the heart of a possible geopolitical conflict zone”, the South China Sea.

“Therefore, we need massive defence reforms to equip and prepare Malaysia for any eventualities.”

In December 2019, Mohamad tabled a white paper to chart Malaysia’s defence plans for the next 10 years, citing an increase in terror threats, the military tension in the South China Sea, cybersecurity attacks, and a rise in human and drug trafficking.