Oh
please. When Najib was the prime minister, he organised a āmeetingā
with retired flag rank officers organised by BNās propaganda arm Jasa to
āexplainā the situation in Lahad Datu before the general elections.
Opposition
political operatives were not invited, which was a disgusting display
of partisanship but par for the course because the armed forces are
highly politicised in this country.
Sources in the meeting claimed
it was just another opportunity to bash the then opposition. The
retired officers also got a goodie bag to better fit the superficial
propaganda event this was. You can read my take on it here as well as
some of the post-meeting chatter that found its way to social media,
including:
āHowever, politics had a role in the second part of
this meeting. This whole section consisted of rants against those
generals who had shown support to the āOppositionā.
A former chief
of the defence force, who had cried when criticised by the then-sports
minister for his conduct in the Commonwealth Games, went so far as to
claim that these generals did not have the same DNA of those supporting
the government of the day. In response, one three-star general commented: āComing from this CDF, the nation should be grateful.ā
And
let us not forget about the shocking claim made by the then prime
minister Najib in a blog post about how our lads had been killed because
of ācovert enemiesā who supplied information to our enemies. He posted:
āWe
can still remember the incident in Lahad Datu where security forces
personnel were sacrificed because there were covert enemies. At that
time, the intruders had obtained prior information on the movements of
our security forces and ambushed our soldiers in a house.ā
Who
were those covert agents? What sort of investigations and which
agencies were involved in routing out these ācovert enemiesā? Why
werenāt the press and the people of Malaysia notified that our soldiers
were killed because of leaked information? Were the families of the
soldiers who were āsacrificedā notified that their deaths were the
result of an ambush because of leaked intelligence?
For the record, Special Branch officer detective Corporal Hassan Ali Basari
was sentenced āto seven years imprisonment, the maximum jail sentence
under Section 130M of the Penal Code, for withholding information on
terrorism activities in Sabahā.
From press reports: āAlthough an
intrusion had not taken place during the time Hassan was told of the
impending intrusion by the protected witness, Ravinthran said the
intrusion eventually happened and that security forces would have been
ready to stop it from happening had Hassan informed the matter to his
superiors sooner.ā
These were the words of deputy public
prosecutor Nordin Hassan when pressing for a deterrent sentence should
also be considered in the discussion of what we know as reported in the
press and not merely the words of a prime minister in a blog post.
He
said: āThe accusedās intention not to inform his superiors resulted in
some of our security forces injured and killed while gallantly
protecting the countryās sovereignty.ā
In addition, let us not
forget when Ibrahim Ali wanted a military base to be built in his
constituency because he believed that military votes were BN friendly,
stating that āa battalion of troops, thatās a lot of voters. Serampang dua mata (kill two birds with one stone). Build it now in the name of national security, sediakan payung sebelum hujan (be prepared)ā.
Of
course, I found it funny when he also argued that a Scorpene submarine
should be deployed to Kelantan because, at that time, PAS was a big
critic of the corruption of the BN government. How things have changed.
However, Ibrahim Ali was convinced that a Scorpene submarine and BN leaders giving speeches on one would be an impressive sight.
āAnd
if possible, let me give a speech on the deck of the Scorpene to
explain the real story to the people, who have been bombarded by PAS
ceramah on how the submarines cost billions (of ringgit) and cannot even
dive.
āEven the menteri besar (Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat) can get to see it. Maybe even their serban will fly off after they see the Scorpene!ā
Add
to this, the case of whistleblower former RMAF Major Zaidi Ahmad who
claimed that he was dismissed from service, because: āI was just doing
the right thing as a citizen and a servicemanā¦ to be disciplined and
truthful. However, these qualities were hated by the previous
government.
āI was merely exposing the fact that the indelible ink used in the election could be washed off.ā
He also lamented the fact that his reinstatement or his pension was not possible under a Harapan government.
āSaya
tidak mahu ulas panjang tentang keputusan itu tetapi saya mahu ingatkan
pemimpin Harapan agar tidak lupa, mereka kini sudah menjadi menteri,
gembira dan boleh menikmati kemewahan.
āJangan lupa rakyat yang berjuang dan mengangkat anda ke kedudukan sekarang, kerana rakyat yang sama juga boleh jatuhkan anda.ā
Two
years ago Zaidi was a DAP member, and an information officer at the
Penang Chief Ministerās Office and a part-time stevia seller.
To
get into the reality of the scandals, statements and shenanigans by the
political and security apparatus is beyond the scope of this article.
The fact that the armed forces have unfortunately been drawn into
financial scandal between the political class and the military
establishment is unfortunate for the rank and file grunt.
The fact
that the state and political operatives continue to propagandise the
armed forces, and the outraged mob that believes it is patriotic to
stand up for the armed forces, is demonstrative of the hypocrisy that
poisons nuanced discussions.
The reality is that the only people
who get the short end of the stick, and I am not talking about those who
worm their way up the food chain and have secured plum jobs for their
offspring after retirement, are the rank and file grunts in all branches
of the armed service.
These men and women find out too late that
their service means very little ā proper housing, proper equipment and
better pay ā unless it looks good when politicians or civilians either
attack or defend them.
Even then, it means very little.
The whole incident has a lot of unanswered questions. I agree they are politicians who jump opportunity to gain some cookie points. Bastards, all of them.