According to a report by Malaysian news agency Bernama, Malaysia has put forth a proposal to cooperatively produce and market the M4 carbine to Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
The M4 is manufactured in Malaysia under a license granted from Colt Defense LLC in 2006-7 by SME Ordnance Sdn Bhd. 14,000 M4s are currently in service with the Malaysian Armed Forces, Special Forces of Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency as well as the Royal Malaysian Police.
SME Ordnance Sdn Bhd (SME) is a National Aerospace & Defence Industries (NADI) subsidiary company. They have been issued a mandate to cooperate with ASEAN countries to produce the Colt M4 carbine assault rifle for a wider user base. SME signed a new contract with Colt in February to facilitate the production of an additional 116,000 carbines over seven years. This must still be approved by the US Congress. In particular, Brunei was singled out as a possible customer for the US issue service weapon.
The initiative to develop the region’s defense industry, referred to as the ASEAN Defence Industries Collaboration (ADIC) was set forth at the recent ASEAN Defence Ministers Meeting (ADMM) in Jakarta. One of the most compelling points of the plan to federate the production of the rifles across partner countries is that 85% of the parts will be locally produced. Defence Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi explained “Only the main technology and equipment come from United States. Colt also gave us the right to sell M4 to ASEAN countries. “Asean partners will be given the opportunity to share production. Although M4 will be made in Malaysia, its components will be produced by ASEAN countries.”
