PETALING JAYA: National Patriot Association (Patriot) has rubbished prominent tycoon Koon Yew Yin’s suggestion that the country’s armed forces personnel should replace the foreign workers in the country as plantation hands.
Patriot president Brig Gen (Rtd) Datuk Mohamed Arshad Raji (pix) said that such suggestions were ridiculous and proved a sheer ignorance of the role of the military.
He pointed out that while Malaysia is now in ‘peacetime’, troops were still being deployed on foreign peacekeeping missions, maritime patrols and stand as guardians of our national borders, aside from military training.
“When soldiers train, they train to kill. They are professional killers and many are highly skilled in their own respective roles. They do jobs civilians can not do.
“They are specially trained to withstand difficult situations and endure hardship. All (army personnel) understand this, the moment they sign up and are enlisted, that they have to be prepared to die, even be sacrificed in order to accomplish a mission.
“Therefore, please Mr Koon Yew Yin and all politicians, please change the way you view our military personnel. They are certainly not cheap labour. They are trained professional killers whom our nation cannot do without,” Mohamed Arshad said in a statement today.
The retired army chief was responding to Koon’s blog posting which Koon published on Monday, that the Malaysian Armed Forces personnel were doing nothing but “eating and sleeping”, and that almost all of them have never fired a shot except at target practice.
The IJM Corporation and Gamuda Berhad founder went on to suggest that some of the personnel should replace the current foreign workers employed to work in Felda plantations, in a bid to address the bloated civil service.
Previously, former Sabah Chief Minister Tan Sri Harris Salleh had similarly suggested that excess military personnel be redirected to assist the government in its uplifting and stabilising of the rural village communities, and work as security guards.
Deputy Defence Minister Liew Chin Tong, on Tuesday, expressed regret over the misunderstanding, referring to Koon’s comment on military personnel. He stressed that armed forces personnel would be able to assist various local agencies and international missions during peacetime.
Meanwhile, former premier Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak said Koon’s statement was overboard and can be deemed as a serious insult to the country’s entire security force. He said that he felt he had to voice out the issue as the current Pakatan Harapan administration seemed uninterested and took the matter lightly.
“They seem to be ignoring the Armed Forces Fund Board’s (LTAT) 2018 dividend that has been delayed for months, what more an insult to our army personnel,” he posted on Facebook today.
