Penang Gerakan wants Defence Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi to apologise and retract his statement of the lack of patriotism is the reason to the low number of Chinese and Indian military recruits, made recently.

Penang Gerakan secretary Goh Kheng Sneah said that Ahmad Zahid should retract the statement he made about the Chinese and Indians’ participation in the armed forces (ATM) which is “racially biased, shallow and chauvinistic” in nature.

“We are stunned and disappointed that a senior minister would make such a provocative statement when our Prime Minister Dato’ Sri Najib Tun Razak is promoting moderation through his 1Malaysia concept,” he told a press conference in the state Gerakan headquarters here yesterday (Nov 10).

He also said as a Minister, Zahid should not behave like this.

Goh added such statement showed Ahmad Zahid’s failure to solve the problem and it was the easy way out.

“We should be aware that this setback involves all Malaysians, not only the Chinese and Indians,” he said.

However, he said the ministry should analyse and find the root cause of the issue as well as find ways to encourage non-Malays to join the army.

“Despite our differences, all Malaysians are equally committed and no one should ever doubt or question our patriotism towards our beloved country,” he said, adding that the lack of participation by Chinese and Indian in ATM does not mean they love the country any lesser.

He reiterated that if Ahmad Zahid does not apologise and retract his statement, then he should join the army.

“He is only leading the forces, but he is not one of them. If he does not join, does that mean he is also not patriotic?” he asked.

Goh also warned Zahid of possible backlash from his own constituents in the Bagan Datoh parliamentary seat, which had 23.3% Indian and 19.5% Chinese voters.

He said the minister had scrapped through at the 2008 general election with a mere 2,692 vote margin after winning it with a thumping 12,539 vote-majority in 2004.

It was reported on Tuesday that Zahid told Dewan Rakyat that his ministry finds that the participation of the non-Malays, especially Chinese and Indian, in the armed forces is still low, perhaps because of they fear to the strict discipline, it is a less rewarding job compared with working in the private sector, no encouragement or support from family members and lack of patriotism.

He said that only 903 non-Malays joined the Malaysian armed forces in 2008 and 2009 which comprised 82 Indians, 26 Chinese, while the remaining were the natives of Sabah and Sarawak.

by Editorial Desk
gerakan4u.com