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COMMENT At the special sitting oof the Dewan Rakyat on the MH17 tragedy yesterday, the serving of alcohol on MAS flights and the attire of the flight stewardesses was among the issue that received  attention - but not the crucial matter of the  global proliferation of arms.

A Buk missile system is believed to have brought down MH17, not alcohol and women in kebaya. We should be more concerned if our flight attendants are in militant outfits.

To die in our national costume, the sarung kebaya, the attire used by MAS flight stewardesses, is a sin, the august House was told by a woman MP from the opposition.

 

The cocktail of issues raised  in Parliament included  praises for Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak’s strategic handling of obtaining the black boxes and remains of the victims, bringing the perpetrators to the International Criminal Court (ICC), the non-ratification of the ICC by Malaysia and the rehashing of facts on the downing of MH17.

Responding to alcohol  served on MAS flights and attire of air stewardesses, an online commentator said, “ There are bigger sins, here in Parliament.”  

Indeed, one of those sins overlooked by Parliament is the growing trade in arms, particularly in this region, given too the geopolitical interest of global superpowers in this region.

Sales of arms to Russia

In Europe and the United States, questions are being raised on the sale of arms to Russia by the US and countries within the EU.

France is going ahead with the sale of  two Mistral-class carriers capable of launching helicopter, tank and missile attacks from the sea to Russia. According to media reports, this will “dramatically boost Russia's military capability”.

Questions are being raised in Britain as to why it granted licences to sell arms worth tens of millions of pounds to Russia just days after Prime Minister David Cameron called for a Europe-wide ban on such sales because of the Ukraine crisis.

The British Parliament’s Committees on Arms Exports chairperson John Stanley said Britain should have been “applying a cautious approach for some considerable time towards Russia”.

There are four such parliamentary committees examing arms export controls.

According to The Guardian yesterday, “More than 200 licences to sell British weapons to Russia, including missile-launching equipment, are still in place despite David Cameron's claim in the Commons on Monday that the government had imposed an absolute arms embargo against the country, according to a report by a cross-party group of MPs released on Wednesday.”

Asean, sorrow and trade

On July 19, the Association of South-east Asian Nations (Asean) foreign ministers issued a brief statement condemning the downing of MH17, expressed sorrow and called for an independent investigation.

Asean can actually do more. The Asean Plan of Action to Combat Transnational Crime was adopted by the second Asean Ministerial Meeting on Transnational Crime in June 1999.

This is a  politically-binding instrument and builds on earlier Asean declarations that emphasise the role of arms smuggling in transnational criminal activities and the need for comprehensive action and regional cooperation against it

In the Transparency International (TI) Defence and Security Programme Survey released on Sept 17, 2013, Malaysia was placed in the high corruption risk category, together with 21 other countries, including  Bangladesh, China, Pakistan, Singapore, Turkey and Zimbabwe. The TI study on corruption in defence also focuses on parliamentary oversight of defence procurement.

 

In 2010, Malaysia passed the Strategic Trade Act which includes provisions for the licensing of exports for transit and shipment brokering, including a list of items that can be used for weapons of mass destruction. There is a list of big item, such as tanks, and for ammunition as well.

 

Cesar H Villanueva of the University of St La Salle in his presentation on “Amazingly Armed Asia: Arms Trade Treaty - An idea whose time has come now for Asean!” in Subang Jaya in April 2012  warned, “Asia was the biggest arms importing continent for the period of 2007-2011. Five countries from the region, namely India, South Korea, Pakistan, China and Singapore in that order, accounted for 44 percent of all global arms imports for the period covered.”

 

India increased its  defence spending by 12 percent in 2014-15 over the previous year. In a budget presented recently, India said it needs a strong military to counter potential threats from China and Pakistan.

The Malaysian Navy purchased Exocet missiles from France, but not a single one was fired against an enemy. Who are our enemies?

MPs and defence accountability

The rapid development of the arms trade in Asia, including the illegal arms trade, is a serious concern to which our MPs are not paying attention, even though about 40 Malaysian MPs joined the campaign for the UN Arms Trade Treaty in 2012.

 

Soon the global and local news coverage on MH17 tragedy will  move away from the headlines, as has been evident in many cases, including the mysterious disappearance of Flight MH370.

 

Malaysian MPs lost an opportunity to raise issues on accountability in Malaysia’s defence purchases, illegal arms in the country and how Malaysia, as the next chair of Asean, will steer the region on the Asean Plan of Action to Combat Transnational Crime and the proliferation of arms.

 

My suggestion to all our MPs is to read this brilliant book, The Shadow World Inside the Global Arms Trade by former South African parliamentarian Andrew Feinstein, and understand how weapons from the legal market end up in the illegal market.

 


JOSIE FERNANDEZ is an Asian Public Intellectual Fellow. Among other issues of public interest, she has worked on transparency and corruption in the defence sector.

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