The Armed Forces in Umno quagmire

"Military guys are rarely as smart as they think they are, and they've never gotten over the fact that civilians run the military." - Maureen Dowd

COMMENT The recent statement by Navy chief Abdul Aziz Jaafar as to the justification of the acquisition of the Scorpene submarines is further evidence that our armed forces is mired in the political quagmire that Umno finds itself in.

The controversial purchase, not to mention operational efficiency, of these submarines pales in comparison to the politicisation of our security apparatus, which has reached unprecedented depths unheard of in so-called functional democracies.

Is this evidence of what Prime Minister Najib Razak aspires to as the best democracy in the world?

Abdul Aziz (right), if you remember was one of the service chiefs lined up behind (looking rather sheepish) Armed Forces chief General Zulkifeli Mohd Zin when hemade an emotional appeal, which also included subtle threats and comments which were unacceptable, not to mention unprofessional, for an officer holding the highest rank in the military to make.

He made this appeal when confronted with accusations by retired service personnel of vote/voter manipulation in the armed forces.

The fact that these retired personnel made the accusations at a press conference organised by the opposition should not detract from the fact that these accusations should have immediately been investigated by an independent panel to maintain the integrity of the armed forces.

Access to Scorpene subs

Zulkifeli's characterisation of the actions of these retired personnel as disloyal (treacherous) and haranguing of the opposition was beyond the pale.

Of course, the Armed Forces chief was silent when Perkasa chief Ibrahim Ali hinted that he would be in a better position to retain his seat if there was a military base in his Pasir Mas constituency. Myresponse to General Zulkifeli's press conference was predictably ignored by the mainstream media and was published by a pro-opposition blogger.

Now, before I am accused (being a former naval officer) of playing politics, I have never claimed of being anything but a Pakatan Rakyat supporter and let us not forget that a pro-regime blogger was allowed access to the submarines, chatted with the crew and published his 'exclusive' in his blog. I guess the Official Secrets Act does not come into play when BN partisans are concerned.

This episode was noteworthy because the defence minister had some other urgent business that day but Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng had no problem observing the operational efficiency of the vessels, which had been questioned in the mainstream and alternative press.

During my tenure onboard the KD Hang Tuah, where I was the executive officer, Abdul Aziz was then a young sub lieutenant. What is interesting about Abdul Aziz is that he is the first locally trained officer to be appointed Navy chief (he graduated from the training establishment KD Pelanduk).

The late Captain ‘Dick' Khoo Tee Chuan built from the ground up the training establishment which started out as the Cadet and Recruit Training Establishment (Cart) and later commissioned as KD Pelanduk. So much for the idea that the non-Malays are not patriotic enough as espoused by Defence Minister Zahid Hamidi. But I digress.

'Ethnic poisoning' 

Much has been made of the 1511 statement of Abdul Aziz, but what is worrying as pointed out by a former senior (rtd) Malay officer from the Ranger Regiment is that the statement itself in all its historical distortions is an overt ploy to play to the racial sentiments of the Malay polity. Or should that be the Umno Malay polity?

Do not believe anyone who tells you that the security apparatus of a state, or any state anywhere in the world, is "apolitical". The armed forces do the bidding of its elected civilian masters. But what they don't do is engage in the political process on behalf of their political masters.

This gives the illusion of "apoliticalness" but the reality is to varying degrees, the armed forces in most functional democracies are used as tools by their political masters to further their own political agendas.

In most functional democracies, either the legislative or judiciary act as safeguards to ensure that the military is not suborned to the political process but at the end of the day, most often it is the individual in the military who has to exercise commitment to principle. This is done through training and an understanding of the historical traditions of the role of the military.

In Malaysia, not only has the security apparatus been politicised but after prolonged ‘ethnic poisoning' as I like to refer to it as the whole military establishment is considered by Umno as merely an extension of its hegemony.

Our so-called affirmative action policies that are in reality ethnic job placements policy, has resulted in the lopsided racial make-up of our security apparatus, which in turn has been against the non-Malays as evidence that they are not patriotic enough. Umno dogma has replaced the ideals of impartiality, and loyalty to Umno is equivalent to loyalty to king and country.

So it should surprise no one that we have former military personnel of one ethnic group reborn as butt dancers disgracing their previous occupation in the name of defending the "honour of the country".

When you have the likes of Ridhuan Tee Abdullah who lectures at the National Defence University and whose books ‘Masih Adakah Ketuanan Melayu?' and ‘Cabaran Saudara Baru di Malaysia' are launched at the Defence Ministry; I think it's safe to assume that the corridors of Umno power and the halls of the military intersect. Ridhuan's academic specialty is ‘Politik dan Kerajaan' and ‘Politik Islam'.

Monetary rewards

But of course, there is more to it than just systemic discrimination. Money plays a big part and gone are the days when you retire from the armed forces and survive on your pension. These days there's good money to be made while serving and once you leave service, lucrative jobs in various government-linked companies (GLCs) await.

Full disclosure: I was for a brief period, because of my gunnery specialisation, a consultant to a local agent for an international company involved in arms procurement.

I suspect readers understand why no officers of flag rank ever speaks out on issues such as these. The answer is of course because they are indebted to the system. Not only them, but their progeny who hold influential positions in the various GLCs and private companies that their parents served upon retiring.

As one officer of flag rank cynically told me, "You don't expect them to pour sand in their caviar bowls, do you, Thaya?"

I expected this answer. In my experience, senior officers would rather complain privately than make their contempt public. The reason for their demureness is monetary in nature.

Understand now, that there are many honourable retired security personnel of various ranks who are not indebted to the Umno system and who make their contempt known in the ballot box. They do not speak out for various reasons. These men and women quietly continue contributing to the country in other capacities much like they did when they were in service.

I never appreciated this Herman Wouk quote from ‘The Caine Mutiny' (a book I revisit often) until I left the service and over the years, watched what it had transformed into.

The quote is as follows: "The Navy is a master plan designed by geniuses for execution by idiots. If you're not an idiot but find yourself in the Navy, you can only operate well by pretending to be one."

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S THAYAPARAN is Commander (rtd) of the Royal Malaysian Navy.