Malaysian Institute of Defence and Security (MiDAS) was officially launched on 21 Apr 2010 and subsequently approved by the Cabinet of Malaysia on 17 December 2010. The Institute's formal establishment was later approved by the Public Service Department of Malaysia. MiDAS is governed by a Board of Governors with the Minister of Defence as the Chairman and the Deputy Defence Minister, Secretary General Ministry of Defence, Chief of Defence Force, Service Chiefs and the Vice Chancellor of National Defence University of Malaysia (UPNM) as members.

The purpose of establishing MiDAS are; firstly, Ministry of Defence is entrusted to maintain the nation's sovereignty and stability, thus any policy formulated by the Ministry of Defence shall be comprehensive and relevant to the complex scenario of the present and future regional and global security environment and secondly the Ministry of Defence requires a comprehensive research mechanism to develop a pragmatic approach to address matters and issues on defence and security.

Hence, within those contexts MiDAS is established as a professional institution responsible to the Malaysian Armed Forces and Ministry of Defence to spearhead issues on defence and security through research and knowledge sharing. As a professional research institution on an international level, MiDAS generates knowledge sharing through academia, networking with international research institutions, conduct conferences such as the Putrajaya Forum series which was first organised in 2010 and the publication of The Journal of Defence and Security.

Regionally, MiDAS also acts as a Track 2 organization for Malaysia and as a core institution in the Network of ASEAN Defence and Security Institutions (NADI). MiDAS cooperates and network with other ASEAN countries through NADI which provides recommendations to the ASEAN Defence Senior Officials Meetings (ADSOM) and ASEAN Defence Ministerial Meetings (ADMM).

At national level, MiDAS through the MiDAS Blue Ocean Strategy Centre (MBOSC) is responsible to spearhead the implementation of the Blue Ocean Strategy (BOS) for the Malaysian Armed Forces and the Ministry of Defence and coordinates BOS initiatives between MAF and other government agencies.

As Chairman of MiDAS, it is my aspiration that this esteem establishment will continue to perform its intended vision and mission and be recognised as Malaysia's determination for Track 2 Diplomacy as possible solutions to address issues on defence and security.

I would also like to thank the leadership of Prime Minister as the Patron who supported the formation of MiDAS.
 
CHAIRMAN