Defence minister Khaled Nordin said this included adopting an open tender process for the procurement of military assets from overseas, Berita Harian reported.

Another improvement that will be implemented is the appointment of cross-service personnel to all price quotation committees across the armed forces, Khaled said.

“This means that if there is a price quotation for a navy asset, there must be personnel from the air force or army in the committee.

“The government wants all procurement from suppliers from overseas to be done through international open tender,” he said.

Khaled said this was agreed upon following discussions between his ministry and the Treasury concerning the release of funds following a freeze on all military procurements.

He acknowledged that the previous procurement system was exposed to manipulation from agents, causing the prices of assets to surge far above the actual costs.

The freeze on military and police procurement was made by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim on Jan 16 following allegations of corruption involving the armed forces.

Several top former military officers claimed trial to multiple charges of corruption last month, including former armed forces chief Nizam Jaffar, former army head Hafizuddeain Jantan, and former Malaysian Defence Intelligence Organisation director-general Razali Alias.