Having Troops In Saudi Arabia A Good Decision

SINTOK (Kedah, Malaysia) April 12 (Bernama) -- The proactive move by the Defence Ministry to station Malaysian troops in Middle Eastern countries like Saudi Arabia is a good decision because they can be mobilised quickly if there is need to evacuate Malaysians in cases of untowards incidents like terrorist attacks, said Deputy Defence Minister Mohd Johari Baharum. He cited as an example the declaration of a three-month state of emergency in Egypt in the wake of the terrorist attacks on churches in that country. "This shows the need for us to station troops in the Middle East. Our response time will be faster (if an evacuation mission is necessary," he told reporters after launching the National Service Training Programme 2.0 Group 1 Series 14 2017 at the Sintok NS camp here Tuesday. Also present was National Service Training Department director-general Mohamed Asri Yusof. Monday, Defence Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said his ministry was prepared to bring back Malaysians in Egypt if the situation warranted it. Johari added that the Royal Malaysian Air Force's assets like the C130 transport aircraft and Nuri helicopters based at the Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia could be mobilised at a moment's notice if there was a need to airlift Malaysians during an evacuation mission in the Middle East. -- BERNAMA