Malaysia’s defence ministry is working to establish a Cyber Force as the fourth branch of the armed forces to counter modern and cognitive warfare threats.
KUALA LUMPUR: The Ministry of Defence is working on efforts to establish a Cyber Force as the fourth service branch of the Malaysian Armed Forces to address the threats posed by modern and cognitive warfare.
Defence Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin said the move was necessary as today’s threats are no longer confined to traditional physical combat, but have shifted towards dominance in cyberspace and the shaping of public perception.
“We need to implement the Total Defence (HANRUH) concept because, in today’s modern threats and challenges, wars do not necessarily begin with confrontation between security forces. They may instead start by taking control of our social media and other platforms.
“That is why, at the Ministry of Defence, we are working on efforts to establish a Cyber Force as the fourth service branch, as we have found that this is something we simply cannot avoid,” he said.
He said this in response to a supplementary question from Senator Datuk Seri Prof Dr Noor Inayah Ya’akub on the integration of cyber and cognitive threats into the implementation of HANRUH in the Dewan Negara today.
Responding to the original question from Senator Datuk Ahmad Ibrahim on strengthening the implementation of HANRUH, Mohamed Khaled said the ministry was also undertaking various initiatives, including enhancing the National Service Training Programme at public institutions of higher learning.
Other initiatives include increasing the allocation for Civil-Military Cooperation to RM20 million by 2026, as well as launching the Defence Literacy Programme in collaboration with Universiti Pertahanan Nasional Malaysia and the Malaysian Institute of Defence and Security.
