Achievement and development of defence industrialization for a country have their own story based on the nation's plans in the past, the success achieved in the present, and the direction and continuous aspirations planned for its future formation. Similarly, as most countries prioritise their industrial defence base to strengthen the capabilities of their national armed forces, Malaysia is also not left behind. The country aspires to have a sustainable and reliable defence industry to support the aspirations to defend its nation's sovereignty. This paper is a study based on a conceptual analysis of the formation and development of the defence industry in Malaysia that has been implemented in the past, present and future. This paper uses a qualitative research approach that includes collecting data based on a literature review of the defence industry in Malaysia and globally, examining related national policies, interviewing significant individuals in the industry and making observations on the facilities of the local defence industry. As a result, this study will present a conceptual analysis of the formation and development of the defence industry in Malaysia in the past, present and future.

The introduction of the National Defence Policy (NDP) in 2010 and the Defence White Paper (DWP) in 2020 by the government of Malaysia mainly drives the national defence industry towards achieving the principle of self-reliance and preserving prosperity, peace, and sovereignty of the country. Furthermore, the significance of both policies is to ensure the need for the nation to achieve optimal defence capabilities and high readiness for the Malaysian Armed Forces (MAF). The principle of self-reliance is vital in the defence industry in providing the country's aspirations towards developing and producing indigenous military products and not relying on foreign manufacturers. But still, the development of this industry has yet shown the desired performance or is comparable to neighbouring countries such as Singapore and Indonesia, where these two countries have successfully reached the second tier for arms manufacturing countries. This paper delivers a conceptual analysis of the impact of the NDP and DWP on the development of the Malaysian defence industry. This study uses qualitative research as a methodological method by analysing the data obtained through interviews with prominent personnel in the local defence industry, literacy studies, and related national defence policies through the Thematic Data Analysis and ATLAS.ti. This study will also propose a conceptual analysis to strengthen the development of the national defence industry.

The embarkment of Malaysian defence industrialisation began as early as 1970. Since then, the government has been striving to spearhead the defence industry. Several government agencies have been assigned for this purpose, each with a designated task and role to synergise the defence industry. Hence, this study aims to critically analyse the implementation of the Government of Malaysian in defence industrialisation. This study uses a qualitative methodology through a semi-structured interview with prominent personnel directly involved in the national defence industry, document analysis and literature review using Thematic Data Analysis and ATLAS.ti. Based on the study's findings, several weaknesses and deficiencies in the implementation by the Government of Malaysia have been identified. In the end, this paper highlighted the potential implementation to drive growth and improve the national defence industry in the future. This study proposed that all relevant government agencies involved should embrace their roles accordingly by having more solid and direct engagement with the industry players, recognising the actual capabilities of the industry and giving the necessary priority to the industry.