SHAH ALAM, Mar 9 — The Defence Ministry (MINDEF) closely monitors the lifestyle of its personnel as part of several measures to identify and prevent potential abuse of power, said its Deputy Minister Adly Zahari.
However, any investigation or action against specific individuals should not be seen as a reflection of the entire Malaysian Armed Forces (MAF).
“The Armed Forces remain a professional, disciplined institution,” he said in the Dewan Negara today, stressing the ministry’s institutional approach to maintaining leadership continuity, operational readiness, and accountability.
Adly was responding to Senator Datuk Dr Hatta Md Ramli’s query on strengthening internal audit mechanisms, particularly within MINDEF and the MAF, to monitor officers’ lifestyles and prevent abuse of power.
The question comes in the wake of a recent corruption scandal involving several high-ranking MAF officers over alleged misuse of funds and irregularities in military procurement tenders.
The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) has seized and frozen millions of ringgit in cash, gold, luxury goods, and funds from more than 80 bank accounts in two separate cases linked to alleged corruption in army procurement contracts.
Former Army chief General Tan Sri Muhammad Hafizuddeain Jantan and his two wives were among those arrested so far.
Elaborating, Adly said MINDEF continues to strengthen governance through regular audits, discipline enforcement, and collaboration with oversight agencies, while embedding integrity, professionalism, and ethical leadership in its training programmes.
He also highlighted the role of internal integrity units, which work together with external bodies such as MACC to detect misconduct.
“Audit looks at the whole system, but our integrity units also review complaints. We examine all factors, not just asset declaration, but also lifestyles because abuse of power can appear in many forms,” Adly said.
Officers are also required to submit annual asset declarations, and MINDEF evaluates competence and ethical conduct to prevent the misuse of authority.
“Our system must be strengthened to ensure individuals cannot exploit their positions, while value and ethics are instilled across all personnel,” he said.
