Mindef urged to form task force on lack of non-Malays in military

 

A parliamentary reply in 2009 said the proportion of Chinese and Indian Malaysians in the armed forces was 0.3% and 0.9% respectively.

PETALING JAYA: A task force should be set up by the defence ministry (Mindef) to get more non-Malay citizens to join the armed forces, says a defence analyst.

Lam Choong Wah.

Lam Choong Wah, a former fellow at the Research for Social Advancement centre, said the reasons behind the meagre number of non-Malays in the military was already known, but a solution was wanting.

The lack of chances for promotion was the main issue and was an institutional problem, he said.

In the long run, Lam said, a panel led by the Mindef secretary-general should be formed to rectify systemic issues and formulate a blueprint to implement the actions.

According to a 2009 parliamentary reply, Chinese and Indians accounted for 0.3% and 0.9% respectively of active personnel in the armed forces.

The reasons for this “have already been identified by the top brasses”, he said.

More than 13 years on, little has changed, said Lam, who has written a book, “Are We Protected? Malaysian Defence Uncovered” which touches on the issue and the perceived bias in promotions for non-Malay servicemen.

He said there was a need for action “rather than sweeping the ‘well-known problems’ under the carpet”.

Allegations of discrimination in the armed forces were also raised by former diplomat Dennis Ignatius in his recent book “Paradise Lost: Mahathir & The End of Hope”.

He said there had been discrimination in promotions and assignments since the late 1970s.

However, former 1st Infantry Division commander Major-General (rtd) Toh Choon Siang  has dismissed claims of systematic discrimination. He said it was a “pure myth that non-Malays are not keen to join the armed forces because promotion prospects are limited for them”.

Patriot president Brigadier-General (rtd) Mohamed Arshad Raji said he was not sure why fewer non-Malays joined the armed forces. “When I joined in 1965, more than 30% (of recruits) were non-Malays, but now we don’t see that.”

He proposed that the armed forces rope in more non-Malay senior officers and veterans to join recruiting teams. - FMT