Malaysia’s National Security (Comprehensive Security Doctrine: Issues & Challenges)

The National Resilience College (NRC), Putrajaya, was privileged to host Prof. Dr Mohd Kamarulnizam bin Abdullah, Director of the Institute of Malaysian and International Studies (IKMAS), for an eminent session on “Malaysia’s National Security: Comprehensive Security Doctrine: Issues & Challenges in Its Implementation.” The session provided a critical, policy-relevant examination of how Malaysia’s comprehensive security doctrine must be operationalised amid today’s multi-domain threat environment—where traditional defence concerns intersect with internal security pressures, economic volatility, cyber risks, information manipulation, social cohesion challenges, and transboundary crises. Discussions highlighted key implementation gaps and strategic trade-offs, including Whole-of-Government coordination, clarity of roles across agencies, policy coherence and institutional capacity, intelligence-to-policy translation, resource prioritisation, and the need to build public trust and societal resilience as a core pillar of national security. Participants benefited from a grounded strategic framework for assessing risk, strengthening governance, and translating doctrine into actionable national capabilities.