6 servicemen may be sacked for Jan 12 rally: Don't abuse your power, PAHLAWAN slams Zahid

At least 6 military men, who were off-duty, may be hauled up by their disciplinary committees for attending an Opposition-organized rally held at the Merdeka Stadium last month, retired servicemen association Pahlawan warned on Wednesday.

"This is abuse of power. According to the laws of the country, members of the Armed Forces are free to participate in any rally provided they do not join any NGO or political parties and do not do anything to jeopardize the security of the country," Asri Buang, head of Pahlawan or Pertubuhan Prihatin Bekas Anggota Keselamatan Malaysia, told a press conference on Wednesday.

He warned embattled Prime Minister Najib Razak's government to back off or face a back lash from serivecmen across the country, who were becoming more conscious of their political and human rights and would no longer tolerate being bullied and forced to accept sub-standard living and working conditions.

Abuse of power

Over the past weeks since the Jan 12 rally which attracted a 500,000-strong crowd, the 6 servicemen whom Asri declined to identify, had posted in their Facebook pictures and recollections of the event.

"They were there in their personal capacity, not as part of any NGO movement or political party. They were interested and wanted to know first hand about the latest development in the political scene. But the Armed Forces has seen fit to victimize them and will probe them under the Armed Forces Act," said Asri.

According to retired general Abdul Hadi Khatab, Section 72 and 89 of the Armed Forces Act was broad-ranging and could be abused to force those caught at the rally to opt for early retirement.

"It is a very subjective Act and basically, those charged and found guilty have 2 options. To accept the punishment or retire early," said Abdul Hadi, who was also at the press conference.

Abdul Hadi had earlier lambasted Defense Minister Zahid Hamidi, whom he accused of unbecoming conduct in trying to gag another top retired general, Ghaffir Abdul Hamid, who had called on the Najib administration to clean up the military procurement procedures.

Speaking up as a patriot

Ghaffir had exposed widespread corruption in the military ranks and bemoaned the billions of ringgit lost through corrupt over-pricing as well as biased purchase agreements that disadvantaged Malaysia, such as allowing international vendors to escape transferring technology to the locals as part of acquisition terms.

"What I can tell you is that Ghaffir is a very respected leader amongst the 'grassroots' in the Armed Forces and his words will carry weight. Whether he will take this political debate further with Zahid is up to him. Ghaffir spoke up as a patriot who wanted to improve the country. He is not part of any political party and has no interest to join any," said PKR strategy director Rafizi Ramli.

Rafizi had previously organized a press conference where Ghaffir had attended. During that event, Ghaffir had warned the Najib administration there was growing unrest among the ranks and that gone were the days that the ruling Umno-BN government could take the votes of the military personnel for granted.

Ghaffir also slammed the Armed Forces pension fund LTAT for hammering through a controversial RM160mil deal involving Selangor Umno Women's chief Raja Ropiaah and Deepak Jaikishan, a former close friend of Najib's wife Rosmah Mansor.

The deal had been criticised by PKR leaders including Rafizi, who warned it would impinge and eat into LTAT's funds.

"We have servicemen who live in barracks that are in worse condition than the 'jamban' (toilet)," Ghaffir had minced no words when calling for greater accountability and transparency over military spending from bigwigs in the Armed Forces.

Malaysia Chronicle