In the midst of lobbying, comes a response from Down Under, highlighting the disparity of treatment for veterans. The following is an abridged version of the letter written by university academic, Dr. Rita Ho who migrated from Malaysia to Australia.

Sad that Malaysia treats some of its soldiers shoddily http://7rangers.blogspot.com/2008/10/it-issad- that-malaysia-treats-some-of.html Its so sad that Malaysia is treating retired soldiers with such contempt ... it's so different here. I have a dear friend who is what they call a “Returned Soldier”, that is one who has fought for the country. He fought the Japanese in Borneo and he tells me of the times when he saw his mate next to him killed by Japanese snipers. Anyway, when he came back from service, the Government gave him hectares of farmland on Kangaroo Island (just a 30 minute ferry ride off the coast of Adelaide). Kangaroo Island is a tourist attraction, and the middle part of the Island is called Pandana, it is occupied by “Returned Soldiers” farms that the Government gave to them in gratitude for their services in WWII.

See the difference in treatment? By the way Kangaroo Island is as big as the size of Singapore Island and I’ve stayed on his farm many a time for holidays. His farm is so big that his son’s family also has another big range-style house about 1km away! He & his wife & his son & grandchildren run this big farm... sheep shearing & wool shed, prize beef stocks, grows lucern grass for hay, cows for milk (they actually make their own butter), keeps several horses .. all beautiful Palomino horses (golden tan colour with light manes).... they also run the Pistol Club on the island. But then his farm is so vast that we can actually go out to an area near his house & start shooting into the open fields... he assured me that there’s nothing out there that the bullets can harm!

and of course, he has a pension for life. Not only that, its also free health cover for him & wife at the Veterans’ Hospital in Adelaide. The Malay Mail.