diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index a8378462bf81b62362302fa94448d6d728632bf0..79f5253454aeeeee204a4f4b09001ee6cb6e157a 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -90,7 +90,6 @@ ifneq (${DEBUG}, 0)
         LOG_LEVEL	:=	40
 else
         BUILD_TYPE	:=	release
-        $(eval $(call add_define,NDEBUG))
         # Use LOG_LEVEL_NOTICE by default for release builds
         LOG_LEVEL	:=	20
 endif