It’s a question that is as old as time (or at least, as old as the time when we separated from our neighbors up north) — who would win if the Singapore Armed Forces and the Malaysian Armed Forces went head to head?
The answer (and perhaps a biased one) is that Singapore will triumph in this hypothesized situation, wrote Bill Chen in a highly-voted response to the question posted on Quora. The Singaporean based his conclusion on pretty sound logic, in that the focus on systemic efficiency, the constant readiness for a military response, the quality of equipment and training of soldiers, as well as the military expenditure here should mean that the SAF has the extra edge.
“We overshadow the Malaysians in most metrics, including the size and training of our recallable forces and the quantity and quality of the equipment. Over the past half-century, Singapore has spent a whole lot more on defense (in absolute terms) than Malaysia, despite break-neck growth and a much smaller population. To quote just one data point, our military budget is almost double Malaysia’s in 2018, despite the huge disparity in size,” Chen wrote.
He also pointed out the strategic shopping Singapore made in terms of arms.
“The SAF shops judiciously, and invests in indigenous R&D. We train and deploy as an integrated combined arms force. All the pieces fit together, and we punch well above our weight with cutting-edge equipment wherever you look.”
Beyond military might
Be that as may be, but another Singaporean countered that we shouldn’t be underestimating Malaysia at all, despite our theorized superiority in logistics and organizational efficiency. Colin Chua points out that Malaysian forces are far more skilled in jungle warfare, are actually self-sustainable with natural resources, bigger land, and more airbases.
“I am not trying to berate Singapore’s military capability here. I once served in the Singapore military and am proud of it,” wrote Chua. “However, when judging military strength we must go beyond military equipment totals, technology superiority, budget size and perceived fighting strength.”
Singapore’s defense policy
The fact that the Singapore government invests more money in its military (3.2 percent of its GDP in 2017) than its regional neighbors is no accident — the country is minuscule in size and is more vulnerable to external forces. Singapore utilizes a forward-thinking military doctrine, relying heavily on a pool of highly-trained career soldiers as well as conscripts and in both active and reserve forces. If the capability to deploy over a million military personnel isn’t enough, Singapore has the help of US forces thanks to the government’s strong support of American military presence in the Asia-Pacific region.
