If you do not engage with the defence bloggers who blog about military affairs without any political baggage, how do you expect to win the cyberspace war. With the facts that are transparent, we defence bloggers can easily defeat the wrongly informed allegations made by these mischievous bloggers that you are referring to. We attend defence shows and talk to the stakeholders in the military defence world, and we believe that we will blog in an informed way. But sometimes we wish that you appreciate us more by giving us access to write more material that would surely be more positive than those uninformed allegations. For one we already know even if Malaysia buys the Anoa it will be for the UN mission as the AV-8 will not be ready in time for this short term requirement. And we can easily counter the allegations that these people make. But if you do not want to be forthcoming and embrace the GTP concept for your ministry, especially since your ministry's PR machinery is not working that well, then how can we blog in a way that would be more positive for Malaysia's defence needs. Think about it eh!
And my Dear Minister, I personally think that Malaysians who visited the DSA knows more about your ministry's plan for the ANOA than the Indonesian bloggers that you refer to. It is just that we hold ourselves to a higher reporting standard than what you may think so we do not glamorise such matters without more solid information.
In case you are wondering what I am talking about, it is in the contents of this article.
Saturday April 21, 2012Don’t confuse people with APC issue, bloggers told
KUALA LUMPUR: Defence Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has told pro-Opposition bloggers not to confuse the people with the issue of acquisition of 6x6 armoured cars with the locally-made AV8.
He said the Government was studying the suitability of the 6x6 armoured car for use by the army under UN Interim Force In Lebanon (Unifil), while the RM8bil AV8 project was a plan for a made-in-Malaysia armoured car.
“They should understand that AV8 is an armoured personnel carrier (APC) with 12 variants for use in Malaysia, while the 6x6 APC is for Unifil,” he said after witnessing the signing of a memorandum of understanding bet-ween the National Service Training Department and Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris here yesterday.
Dr Ahmad Zahid was asked to comment on claims in Opposition blogs quoting Indonesian sources as saying that the Government had selected 32 Anoa armoured cars manufactured by PT Pindad of Indonesia because it was cheaper than the AV8.
He said the Government evaluated several 6x6 armoured cars from abroad, including the Anoa from Indonesia, but had not made a decision.
Dr Ahmad Zahid clarified that the need for a 6x6 armoured car for Malaysian soldiers in Lebanon was pressing because the existing Condor, which has been in use since the 1980s, was no longer suitable.
He said the development of the AV8 might take up to even 15 years.
“The prototype is expected to be completed next year but for Unifil, the Condor is not suitable as it is 4x4. We need a 6x6.”
On another matter, Dr Ahmad Zahid said water-based activities at national service training camps nationwide would resume in the near future.
By the way, I just don't buy Deftech's reasons for not showing the AV8's mock-up that you promised and replacing it with these simple displays that are so sterile.
It really does not make sense to have such a big pavillion to house a model on a moving pedestal that actually shouts "FALL BACK PLAN". So either make sure your supplier keeps your promise, or do not make such a promise in the first place.
No comments:
Post a Comment