On April 12, Steyr, a world-renowned manufacturer of assault weapons and pistols, signed a contract with a Malaysian company to manufacture those weapons in Malaysia, with the intention to export them to other countries that may require them.

Apparently, Steyr and Nadi, the Malaysian company involved in the contract, will aim to promote the guns in the Middle East and Africa, purportedly because the guns are 'superior to current models' in use in conflicts and wars over there.

Defence Minister Najib Razak cited three benefits to help 'sweeten the deal' for Malaysia. One, considering the size of the market, it will be a 'potential revenue earner'. Two, Malaysians can 'acquire the skills and knowledge to develop weapons to a higher degree of technological sophistication'. Three, local vendors will be developed and 'add value' to the participation of Malaysians in the defense industry.

I will cite three reasons why these benefits will not accrue.

One, the potential earnings from selling guns is minimal because there isn't so huge a market and most of the profits flow to the company not the country. Two, making guns that are designed in Austria will not help us acquire any skills to design our own. Even if we can develop our own sophisticated weapons, do we need to?

Isn't it a better idea to devote this time, money and effort in research to other areas like medicine and flood-mitigation? Three, who are these 'local vendors' going to sell to? Malaysian gangsters?

Will there be a black market now? Internationally, 'local vendors' won't even be given a chance, as Steyr will be the ones selling the guns, not some startup Malaysian shell company.

Worse is to follow. Although it is clear that we will not benefit, the impact of guns that we produce, and the message that we send to the rest of the world are the hidden costs of this contract.

The defence minister seems pleased that we are now considered capable of manufacturing guns, and economics seems to be his most compelling argument. Marketing the guns to the Middle East and Africa just to make money is morally irresponsible.

Spare a thought for who is going to be killed - Palestinians, innocent civilians, children. Who cares about the trivial sum that Malaysia will make out of this license?

One cannot argue that if Malaysia doesn't make the guns, someone else will. This is stupid, because one will then argue that just because the drug trade is profitable, Malaysia should also play a part.

The issue here is that guns are responsible for violence and deaths as much as drugs are, and as a pacifist and peace-loving country, we have a moral obligation not to play any part in this most vicious of cycles.

Joining the ranks of countries that manufacture weapons is not an entry to some exclusive and prestigious club of highly-sophisticated industrialised countries. This is nothing to be proud of, certainly not in terms of Vision 2020.

We are sending a message to the world community that we are moral hypocrites, condemning violence and deaths on one hand, but yet manufacturing the very guns that condemn people to their deaths on the other.

I plead to the Malaysian government to repeal the contract that was signed. Malaysia has to stand up for its principles, and not let the colour of (very little) money colour our judgement.

The social and international costs of this badly-reasoned license is too tremendous to ignore. We are not only killing people, but assassinating our reputation in the process.