by Stan Lee
In a bid to head off more revelations of votes cheating,
Armed Forces chief General Zulkifeli Mohd Zin put on his fiercest face and
warned that it was "treachery" for staff to blow the whistle on their
bosses.
In a rare public statement issued on Thursday, Zulkifeli also
rebuked "irresponsible parties" for implicating the armed forces and
its personnel in corrupt voting procedures.
“The actions can be interpreted as treachery and it should
stop immediately. The ATM (armed forces) is the nation's wall of defence that
should be supported by all levels of the people, regardless of ethnicity,
religion and political position," Zulkifeli, who heads the Armed Forces,
said in a statement out on Thursday.
“It is hoped that the ATM is not made a scapegoat by those
seeking to advance their own interests. Tthe people should show their support
and appreciation for the contributions of the ATM. In this context: 'How
can we be loyal to you if you are disloyal to us'?"
He was immediately condemned for getting over-emotional and
above his position with his words.
"This shows Zulkifeli's
own bias. Like the Election Commission chief and deputy chief, he is now also
speaking like an UMNO leader. This strengthens the case for an immediate revamp
of the electoral system based on the Bersih recommendations," PKR vice
president Tian Chua told Malaysia Chronicle.
Explain
the cases, not emotional denials
Zulkifeli's denial comes a day after four ex-military
personnel confessed to committing election fraud at a press conference
organised by opposition party PAS.
More such revelations are expected soon as frustrated
Malaysians begin to show their disgust over the rising corruption in the
country.
Meanwhile, the four whistleblowers are Major (Rtd) Risman
Mastor, Kamarulzaman Ibrahim, Mohamed Nasir Ahmad and Mohd Kamil Omar. They
admitted marking thousands of postal votes in three separate general elections
between 1978 and 1999.
They also said they were ordered by their commanding officers
to mark the postal votes on behalf of colleagues who were out in the field. The
number goes into hundreds and thousands.
The startling revelation was the second this month after
another ex-army man came forward, making a similar claim that a week ago.
While Zulkifeli was quick to condemn "irresponsible
parties" for trying to tarnish the miltary's reputation, he did not have
concrete explanations for how the 5 men could have come about with their
accusations.
Furthermore these are not new grouses but have been
long-standing complains through the decades. Postal votes of army personnel
have always been suspect and the BN has never abandoned the practise despite
the advice of many transparency experts.
All Zulkifeli could say was that the armed forces have always
respected the freedom of its troops to cast their votes, as enshrined under the
Elections Act 1958 and section 16 of the Election Regulations (Postal Votes)
2003.
“The Armed Forces denies that there is any manipulation as
claimed. The voting process carried out by the Armed Forces is clean,
transparent and professional without any interference by all levels of the
Armed Forces' leadership,” he said.
Although Zulkifeli did not name who the
"irresponsible" people were, it was clear that he was referring to
the Pakatan Rakyat, which has been instrumental in dredging out a slew of
electoral skull-duggery.
Zulkifeli
shows his own bias
Zulkifeli also accused unnamed parties of leaking out
military secrets and spreading false information regarding the efficacy and
capabilities of the ATM's weapons systems.
“Such actions will not only expose military secrets to
interested parties who want to know the Armed Forces capabilities, but even
worse, it has shaken the confidence of Armed Forces personnel,” he said.
He did not specify but several cases have been hotly debated
of late. One is Prime Minister Najib Razak's controversial purchase of two
Scorpene submarines, for which he was accused of receiving kickbacks of some
RM570 million.
Current defense minister Zahid Hamidi too has been condemned
for gross overpricing in his proposal to buy 6 operational patrol vessels for
RM6 billion or RM1 billion apiece and 30 Typhoon Eurofighters also at RM1
billion apiece.
"Is Zulkifeli saying
citizens have no rights to question how the government is spending on arms
purchases? Does he know what he is saying? How can questioning, did Najib Razak
receive commission for the two Scorpenes be a breach of national security. Just
this alones shows Zulkifeli's own partiality," PKR stalwart Eddie Wong told
Malaysia Chronicle.
Source : MC
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