Halt all new defence purchases from Norway, govt orders

PETALING JAYA: The defence ministry has been ordered to halt all new procurement of defence equipment from Norway immediately.

Government spokesman Fahmi Fadzil said the decision came after the Cabinet discussed Norway’s move to revoke the export licence for the Naval Strike Missile (NSM) system and its launcher systems.

“The Cabinet has decided that the defence ministry should immediately halt any procurement of new defence equipment or materiel from Norway,” he said in a statement today.

It is unclear whether the suspension applies only to future purchases or also affects existing contracts with Norwegian suppliers.

The move marks a tougher response from Putrajaya after Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim criticised Norway’s decision and said that it pointed to “Western double standards”.

In May, the Norwegian government revoked the export licence for the NSM system ordered by Malaysia under a 2018 contract, saying its defence technology exports would be limited to its “allies and closest partners”, including Nato members.

The cancellation left the navy’s littoral combat ship programme without a key surface-to-surface missile system, despite the NSM contract having been signed in April 2018.

A notice of demand has since been issued to Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace, seeking RM1.06 billion in compensation over the cancelled deal.

Retirement age for civil servants stays at 60

In other decisions announced after the Cabinet meeting, Fahmi said the government had decided against raising the retirement age for civil servants, which will remain at 60.

The review follows a proposal floated by law and institutional reform minister Azalina Othman Said in May 2025 to raise the age to 65, which Anwar said would be studied.

Malaysia raised the retirement age for both public and private sector workers to 60 in 2014, from 58 and 55, respectively.

Fahmi also said the Cabinet had scrapped the mandatory 0.75% salary contribution for the Lindung 24/7 Jam non-work accident scheme.

He said Anwar raised concerns received over the scheme’s implementation before the Cabinet decided to make the contribution voluntary, effective immediately.

“A further statement will be issued by the human resources ministry,” he said.