00:00Well, we do collaborate with Turkey, but militian procurement policies, of course, through a very transparent tender exercise, you know,
00:10there were some controversies, and of course I lead the government, despite all the criticisms about issue of governance, I'm
00:17telling you, this is the first time in our history that we have taken tough measures against abuse of process
00:27and abuse of power.
00:30Or corruption, including in the issue of procurement of armaments. So that policy stands. Now, therefore, the technical community must
00:40advise us, we're the best, competent, and competitive in terms of price.
00:46They have recommended some facilities through Turkey, we're happy with it, and with the support of the President Erdogan, that
00:55helps facilitate, brought down the price, cut this, not only red tip, but also the commissions by the agents.
01:07These things are being done because of this understanding. I told President Erdogan, look, I want to change the system
01:13of procurement.
01:14And he said, yes, I can assure you, if you change the system, we bring down another 10% or
01:2015%. So that's how we continue to work.
01:23It's not still ideal, but it's still in the process. And further matter, with China, with even United States, people
01:31here, the opposition attacked me for buying Boeing from the United States and Airbus from Europe.
01:38I said, you see, we ordered before the war. And secondly, what else do you want me to buy? I
01:43can't buy, you know, we can't make planes for now. So, you know, because of the, you know, they say
01:51American aggression, therefore you must not buy.
01:53I said, Boeing can be bought from only from the United States and Airbus from Europe. We tried. I talked
01:59to President Lula, but he's playing. He said, you can, but we have to wait for another six years.
02:06Meanwhile, we will continue to ride horses. So, so there are limitations, but, but we are, we are, we are,
02:16despite the fact that, you know, my position of the U.S. foreign policy, we engage very well and we
02:21don't have prejudice.
02:21We have problems. We have problems. But I thought it is a good deal, very intense engagements and we procure
02:32the planes, the planes that we require for our communications, you know, transportation.
02:41So, you, you decide what to do, what to buy. I don't decide. You see, the country sometimes, because of
02:50the past practices, they say, sir, what do you recommend?
02:52I say, no, I don't have the expertise. I don't know which tank to buy. There are hundreds of tanks.
02:57But you tell me, if you come and give me the recommendations, you know, sir, only one tank in the
03:03world is suitable.
03:05I mean, you give all the specs that only fits that particular company. I'm, of course, suspicious.
03:12There are hundreds of tanks in the world. There are hundreds of tanks in the world and you come and
03:15give me recommendations, only one specification that fits the entire requirement of this country.
03:22Voila. That's not acceptable. Bye.
03:26And then, okay, bernama question, yeah. Of course, we work very closely with Turkey. And, of course, for now, projection
03:39to May, June, although we are, and people think that we are all producing nation, yes, but we are net
03:46importer too.
03:47Because our products, because our products, the premium brand, which costs, you know, slightly higher, but we still import. But
03:58credit goes to Petronas because they have an excellent track record, excellent relations with these oil producing countries.
04:07And therefore, we don't have that sort of crisis in terms of supply. There may be some price disruptions, but
04:19the supply for the next few months, we are quite assured of that.
04:25But on LNG, too, because of our massive production here in Malaysia and our import from Australia, which is a
04:39longstanding arrangement, and our major success in the procurement in Canada with Petronas Canada operations.
04:52But with Turkey, as I mentioned to you, all fields, including LNG, semiconductor, we are exploring in a very aggressive
05:04manner.
05:05And, you know, President Tayyip Erdogan is not an easy man to deal with his stuff. He wants it to
05:10be done. He wants it to be done yesterday.
05:13So, similarly, with me, that's why we become great friends.
05:19But you are right. We are not sometimes, I'm not blaming necessarily the bureaucracy, but sometimes we are tied to
05:28the old ways.
05:29You know, you buy, you assume. It must be that.
05:34That's why we come to buying planes. It doesn't matter.
05:37So, yes, we go to Airbus, we go to Google, to United States, but we also go to Spain and
05:48China and negotiate whether they can supply or not.
05:51So, we don't have that truncated viewpoint that it must be from a traditional alliance of countries.
06:00For example, with India, you know, in my discussion with Modi, by the way, Professor Modi G was, you know,
06:09had an excellent visit here.
06:12He said one of the great visits he made, very good.
06:16And I went there, too, and sang some Hindi songs, which was viral.
06:23I think very soon, if I retire, I can start probably changing the profession.
06:29But what is important to my mind is where in areas that we can be both beneficial to our countries,
06:37we should proceed.
06:38And this, I think, thank you, and the Deputy Secretary General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is here.
06:45I mean, we take a very open view.
06:48We integrate, we excel, we make sure that we take all necessary measures to accelerate the process of engagement, of
07:00relations with all countries.
07:03And this is the advantage of being, as I said, fiercely independent.
Comments