Singapore Supports Malaysian Govt's Handling Of MH370 Incident

By Tengku Noor Shamsiah Tengku Abdullah SINGAPORE, April 16 (Bernama) -- Singapore Defence Minister Dr Ng Eng Hen has expressed Singapore’s support for the Malaysian government’s handling of the Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 incident. He said the ASEAN Defence Ministers’ recent joint statement that acknowledged Malaysia “has done its level best in its response to this unprecedented predicament given the sheer scale of the search and rescue operation, which is the biggest and most complex we have ever seen.” Dr Ng, who was in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Monday to attend the 14th Defence Services Asia and third Putrajaya Forum also offered his deepest sympathies to the Malaysian government and affected families of the Flight MH370 passengers. He said Singaporeans joined the Malaysians in prayers and hoped that there could soon be closure to this tragic chapter in aviation history. His text of speech was released here by the Ministry of Defence. Delivering the keynote address at the Putrajaya Forum themed "Strengthening Security and Regional Stability”, Dr Ng highlighted that it was justified that the military’s role be expanded to include non-traditional security challenges. He went on to discuss how militaries could improve their effectiveness for their expanded mission by leveraging on technology, enhancing civil-military cooperation, and strengthening regional cooperation. Dr Ng also reiterated Singapore’s offer to host a regional humanitarian and disaster relief coordination centre. While in Kuala Lumpur, Dr Ng called on Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, Malaysian Home Affairs Minister Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and Malaysian Defence Minister Hishammuddin Hussein. The ministers reaffirmed the strong bilateral defence ties and expressed commitment to deepen the bilateral defence relationship through more interactions at all levels. Organised by the Malaysian Institute of Defence and Security, the Putrajaya Forum brings together defence ministers, officials and academics to discuss defence and security issues. It is held in conjunction with the Defence Services Asia Exhibition and Conference that takes place biennially. Chief of Defence Force Lieutenant-General Ng Chee Meng and Chief of Army Brigadier-General Perry Lim were part of the Singapore delegation that attended the Putrajaya Forum. -- BERNAMA