"The day the soldiers stop bringing you their problems is the day you stopped leading them. They have either lost confidence that you can help them or concluded that you do not care. Either case is a failure of leadership."
- Colin Powell
In my previous article, I addressed the "serious concerns" of the Defence Ministry on retired armed forces personnel using their ranks post retirement without permission. In this piece, I would like to highlight the objections of Rafoc (Retired Armed Forces Club*) on the use of army ranks for Rela (People's Volunteer Corps) members.
Before I begin, I would like to make it clear that Rafoc is not pro-opposition. Although I am a member of Rafoc, the views expressed here should not be construed as those of Rafoc's and the club did not ask me to "instigate" (since this is a popular meme doing the rounds now for anyone involved in opposition politics) a controversy between the government and retired armed forces personnel.
In this piece, I will allow Rafoc to speak for itself by quoting verbatim from an open letter circulated amongst retired armed forces officers and include quotes from previous articles of mine; concerning Rela and the objections some people have of this paramilitary outfit and the state of the armed forces today. I hope that the two will not be deliberately conflated.
Rafoc honourary secretary Nawawi Mat Desa Lt-Kol (Bersara), on behalf of the club committee, articulates the concerns of the organisation in this open letter:
"You may wish to know that under Section 22 of the Rela Act 2012, an act which has been passed by Parliament and which will come into force with effect from June 22, 2012, Rela will be using the established Army rank structure.
"Many members of Rafoc and other retired Armed Forces officers have expressed their ‘objection' to the use of the Army rank structure by Rela. They are not against the Rela Act 2012 per se but only objected to the use of the Army rank structure, which has been exclusively belonged to the Malaysian Army since 1933 and used by armies worldwide."
Indeed, at the recent Chinese New Year luncheon organised by Rafoc, the talk amongst retired officers was the casual diminishment of prestige and discipline that the awarding of army ranks to Rela entailed.
From the letter:
"The Army, for that matter the Armed Forces, holds esteemed and sacred the commission and the rank structure conferred to them. Their commissions are conferred by SPB Yang di-Pertuan Agong and can only be withdrawn or revoked by him.
"Having met the prerequisite to become an officer cadet and a vigorous selection process, those who were successful underwent a period of military training to become an officer, either in our own local institutions or abroad.
"Not all who applied were selected to undergo the training and not all who underwent the training were commissioned. Their commissions were conferred in a traditional ceremony, solemnly officiated by SPB Yang di-Pertuan Agong or one of the rulers on his behalf, befitting the profession.
"Their commissions and promotions are gazetted in the governmentGazette. A commissioned officer holds his commission, using his last rank in service, till death unless his commission is revoked by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong for disciplinary or reasons unbecoming of an officer.
"Hence, retired Armed Forces officers still have their last rank before retirement, with their names and they are still referred to by their rank. They are proud to use them or to be referred by their rank even though it is only a Kaptain or Mejar when some of their intake members are Kolonels or Jenerals."
Act of protest
One retired service chief, who has a sterling reputation as a commanding officer but whose unpredictable temperament was the talk of the town, told one of his generals that he was seriously considering putting all his rank insignias in a plastic bag and delivering them to the Defence Ministry.
What readers have to understand is that many of these officers come from a time when service to king and country were ideals that were genuinely committed to. We were very well aware that the agendas of our political masters sometimes were at odds with these ideals and that racial politics post-1969 was rearing its ugly head, not to mention that professional politics and sycophancy was part of the game.
However, for many of these retired officers, duty, honour and the discipline that went into attaining these ranks is something that has been lost in today's armed forces and this Rela episode just adds to it.
Although the open letter makes it clear that Rafoc is not against Rela "per se", but the open letter does imply the mood amongst a good many officers is one of skepticism when it comes to Rela:
"Not having to state the shortfalls of the Rela officers in comparison to the Army officers as stated above, and not having to state other not-so-nice comparisons, we see no similarity nor justification to warrant the use of the Army rank structure by the Rela organisation. They should use their own or other rank structure as appropriate to their organisation."
However, some officers at the recent luncheon openly questioned the political imperatives behind its recent empowerment. As one former general said, "What is Umno attempting to do? Create its own personal army?"
This echoes the thoughts of former Brigadier General (rtd) Mohammad Arshad Raji whose blog I referenced in 'Malaysian politics - who dares wins?', the relevant section being: "The emergence of para security groups conflates national security issues with Umno political concerns."
As articulated by General Arshad in'Rela - PM Najibs's final line of defence?': "And what really scares me was when PM Najib said that ‘when the chips are down, Rela will be with this government to defend the country'. What ‘chips' is he referring to, and what is the threat that the government is trying to defend ... external or internal security threat or a political threat from the opposition."
In addition, Rafoc was told that Rela has three million members that would mean they outnumber all branches of the Armed Forces combined.
Ignored by defence minister
Moreover, since Defence Ministry secretary-general Ismail Samad referenced the Agong in his admonishment to those "retired officers" who allegedly used their ranks without the Armed Forces Council (AFC) permission, I think it would be constructive to highlight Rafoc's concerns of a similar nature:
"We are not sure if SPB Yang di-Pertuan Agong, as the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, was made aware or has been duly advised beforehand and consented to the use of the Army rank structure by Rela."
In fact circulating around that particular luncheon was the idea that a delegation of Rafoc should meet the Agong and convey their objections personally since to this date the Defence Ministry seem to have ignored Rafoc and the army ranks are now used by Rela.
Rafoc was given assurances that this issue would be looked into by the Defence Ministry. This is an unacceptable resolution for Rafoc since this letter was handed over to the defence minister who then in press conference claimed that this matter would be resolved "after the elections". Rafoc was not even given the courtesy of a response to this letter by the minister.
In these partisan times when the opposition chases the armed forces vote and the affairs of service members are included in their manifesto and allegations of voting misconduct when it comes to the armed forces plagues Umno-BN, the tendency to politicise issues like these is a draw for most partisans.
This is not my intention here although I am a self-described Pakatan partisan. The resolution for this lies solely with the federal government and I sincerely hope the objections of Rafoc will be taken into consideration and the relevant section of the Rela Act rescinded.
The Armed Forces is in the spotlight again with the ongoing Lahad Datu incident and this is the perfect time for the federal government to acknowledge the input of former service people who were always aware they could be put in harm's way like our soldiers who now face that reality in Sabah.
* The club is now known as an association
- Colin Powell
In my previous article, I addressed the "serious concerns" of the Defence Ministry on retired armed forces personnel using their ranks post retirement without permission. In this piece, I would like to highlight the objections of Rafoc (Retired Armed Forces Club*) on the use of army ranks for Rela (People's Volunteer Corps) members.
Before I begin, I would like to make it clear that Rafoc is not pro-opposition. Although I am a member of Rafoc, the views expressed here should not be construed as those of Rafoc's and the club did not ask me to "instigate" (since this is a popular meme doing the rounds now for anyone involved in opposition politics) a controversy between the government and retired armed forces personnel.
In this piece, I will allow Rafoc to speak for itself by quoting verbatim from an open letter circulated amongst retired armed forces officers and include quotes from previous articles of mine; concerning Rela and the objections some people have of this paramilitary outfit and the state of the armed forces today. I hope that the two will not be deliberately conflated.
Rafoc honourary secretary Nawawi Mat Desa Lt-Kol (Bersara), on behalf of the club committee, articulates the concerns of the organisation in this open letter:
"You may wish to know that under Section 22 of the Rela Act 2012, an act which has been passed by Parliament and which will come into force with effect from June 22, 2012, Rela will be using the established Army rank structure."Many members of Rafoc and other retired Armed Forces officers have expressed their ‘objection' to the use of the Army rank structure by Rela. They are not against the Rela Act 2012 per se but only objected to the use of the Army rank structure, which has been exclusively belonged to the Malaysian Army since 1933 and used by armies worldwide."
Indeed, at the recent Chinese New Year luncheon organised by Rafoc, the talk amongst retired officers was the casual diminishment of prestige and discipline that the awarding of army ranks to Rela entailed.
From the letter:
"The Army, for that matter the Armed Forces, holds esteemed and sacred the commission and the rank structure conferred to them. Their commissions are conferred by SPB Yang di-Pertuan Agong and can only be withdrawn or revoked by him.
"Having met the prerequisite to become an officer cadet and a vigorous selection process, those who were successful underwent a period of military training to become an officer, either in our own local institutions or abroad.
"Not all who applied were selected to undergo the training and not all who underwent the training were commissioned. Their commissions were conferred in a traditional ceremony, solemnly officiated by SPB Yang di-Pertuan Agong or one of the rulers on his behalf, befitting the profession.
"Their commissions and promotions are gazetted in the governmentGazette. A commissioned officer holds his commission, using his last rank in service, till death unless his commission is revoked by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong for disciplinary or reasons unbecoming of an officer.
"Hence, retired Armed Forces officers still have their last rank before retirement, with their names and they are still referred to by their rank. They are proud to use them or to be referred by their rank even though it is only a Kaptain or Mejar when some of their intake members are Kolonels or Jenerals."
Act of protest
One retired service chief, who has a sterling reputation as a commanding officer but whose unpredictable temperament was the talk of the town, told one of his generals that he was seriously considering putting all his rank insignias in a plastic bag and delivering them to the Defence Ministry.
What readers have to understand is that many of these officers come from a time when service to king and country were ideals that were genuinely committed to. We were very well aware that the agendas of our political masters sometimes were at odds with these ideals and that racial politics post-1969 was rearing its ugly head, not to mention that professional politics and sycophancy was part of the game.
However, for many of these retired officers, duty, honour and the discipline that went into attaining these ranks is something that has been lost in today's armed forces and this Rela episode just adds to it.
Although the open letter makes it clear that Rafoc is not against Rela "per se", but the open letter does imply the mood amongst a good many officers is one of skepticism when it comes to Rela:
"Not having to state the shortfalls of the Rela officers in comparison to the Army officers as stated above, and not having to state other not-so-nice comparisons, we see no similarity nor justification to warrant the use of the Army rank structure by the Rela organisation. They should use their own or other rank structure as appropriate to their organisation."
However, some officers at the recent luncheon openly questioned the political imperatives behind its recent empowerment. As one former general said, "What is Umno attempting to do? Create its own personal army?"
This echoes the thoughts of former Brigadier General (rtd) Mohammad Arshad Raji whose blog I referenced in 'Malaysian politics - who dares wins?', the relevant section being: "The emergence of para security groups conflates national security issues with Umno political concerns."As articulated by General Arshad in'Rela - PM Najibs's final line of defence?': "And what really scares me was when PM Najib said that ‘when the chips are down, Rela will be with this government to defend the country'. What ‘chips' is he referring to, and what is the threat that the government is trying to defend ... external or internal security threat or a political threat from the opposition."
In addition, Rafoc was told that Rela has three million members that would mean they outnumber all branches of the Armed Forces combined.
Ignored by defence minister
Moreover, since Defence Ministry secretary-general Ismail Samad referenced the Agong in his admonishment to those "retired officers" who allegedly used their ranks without the Armed Forces Council (AFC) permission, I think it would be constructive to highlight Rafoc's concerns of a similar nature:
"We are not sure if SPB Yang di-Pertuan Agong, as the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, was made aware or has been duly advised beforehand and consented to the use of the Army rank structure by Rela."
In fact circulating around that particular luncheon was the idea that a delegation of Rafoc should meet the Agong and convey their objections personally since to this date the Defence Ministry seem to have ignored Rafoc and the army ranks are now used by Rela.
Rafoc was given assurances that this issue would be looked into by the Defence Ministry. This is an unacceptable resolution for Rafoc since this letter was handed over to the defence minister who then in press conference claimed that this matter would be resolved "after the elections". Rafoc was not even given the courtesy of a response to this letter by the minister.In these partisan times when the opposition chases the armed forces vote and the affairs of service members are included in their manifesto and allegations of voting misconduct when it comes to the armed forces plagues Umno-BN, the tendency to politicise issues like these is a draw for most partisans.
This is not my intention here although I am a self-described Pakatan partisan. The resolution for this lies solely with the federal government and I sincerely hope the objections of Rafoc will be taken into consideration and the relevant section of the Rela Act rescinded.
The Armed Forces is in the spotlight again with the ongoing Lahad Datu incident and this is the perfect time for the federal government to acknowledge the input of former service people who were always aware they could be put in harm's way like our soldiers who now face that reality in Sabah.
* The club is now known as an association
S THAYAPARAN is Commander (rtd) of the Royal Malaysian Navy.
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