He said that in a world without borders, terrorists moved freely from anywhere around the globe and did not necessarily rely on specific transit points in any country.

“It’s not true, I don’t think (Tawau is a transit point)…because the whole world can serve as transit points for Daesh terrorists.

“This is now a borderless world and when there are no borders, we do not require any transit point,” he told reporters after launching a 2017 Defence Ministry retreat here today.

Also present was Armed Forces Chief Raja Mohamed Affandi Raja Mohamed Noor.

According to Hishammuddin, the defence ministry would continue making the fight against the Islamic State its priority, in collaboration with several other major powers.

“The way to handle Daesh, calls for the cooperation of various parties…our relations with Saudi Arabia, the United States, China, Europe and France puts us in a strategic position to face Daesh,” he said.

On the need for the Malaysian Armed Forces to acquire new assets such as the multi-role fighter aircraft, multi-role support ship and offshore combat ship, Hishammuddin said these were necessary to complete the country’s defence system.

“Like it or not, we need these new assets, we will announce it to the public but this will depend on the economic situation of the country, as well as the world’s economy,” he added.

Commenting on the Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace 2017 exhibition, Hishammuddin said preparations were going according to plan and hopefully, this year’s would be the best yet.