….it’s a of course a propaganda organ for UMNO, not that organ, gotcha! During the time of Tun Hussein Onn , there were 3 two star, Non Malay Generals in the Army, they were Major General Leong Siew Meng, Major General Selvarajah and Major General Lai Chung Wah. Of course, they served into the era of our Great Leader . I only buy the NST on a need to basis, that is when I need to clear my dog’s poop. No wonder it’s circulation is dropping, many people apparently think like me. Throughout the era of our Great Leader, whose achievements were many , there were no more two star Generals in the Army. You know why this great man, Tun Hussein allowed this. Tun Hussein Onn was the father of tolerance and meritocracy.

In that article by a so called scribe, quotes Zahid Hamidi, that the Non Malays fear discipline, that the profession of arms is monetarily less rewarding for them, no support from the family and of course the lack of patriotism for not serving in the Armed Forces. As I have stated before when Malaya/Malaysia was threatened the Non Malays always answered the call magnificently.

I will speak on the behalf of all ex Non Malay servicemen by virtue they have written, spoken and telephoned me, voicing their support. First on the pay, when I was a recruit in 1972, I was paid RM60 a month, it was split fortnightly, therefore I was paid a lordly sum of RM30! So bang goes the theory of less rewarding into the toilet. Which family would encourage their offspring where racial discrimination and religious bigotry is rife? I will not bother this time about the patriotism of the Non Malays, it is insulting, as Defence Minister Zahid Hamidi does not have an inkling of history or maybe feigns ignorance. After all to qualify to be a Defense Minister, in Malaysia, one only needs to be an UMNO warlord.

The scribe says, “the ruling party had always been Malay-based in 53 years of rule, it is natural that the civil service, from top to down, is filled in the ranks with Malays. The same concept applies to other countries, Singapore included.” It is so unnatural; he purposefully qualifies that remark by mentioning Singapore. He might as well have said the same concept applies to China! For bloody sanity’s (I replaced a choice expletive here) sake the, Non Malays are nearly 50 friggin percentage of the population in Malaysia! Whereas my dear Azmi Anshar, Singapore has a population which is 76.8% Chinese and Malays are a measly 13.9% followed by Indians 7.9% . Honesty is definitely not the better part of you.

Azmi Anshar, actually insults the intelligence of his readers. For your information we people do actually think, we do not think according to the bidding of our political masters. Give the general public some credit, they are not sheep.

“thus the need for the minister to address the issue in Parliament”. It would be more apt for the scribe to say, “insulting the Non Malays in Parliament”. Okay on ‘discipline’, my cojones are laughing rolling all over themselves. What the hell were we doing in the Army? Fear of discipline? Think of a better reason. Discipline is debatable, it does not only apply in the Military field. He further writes,”perception: the government, being a dominant Malay entity, has little or no place for non-Malays to pursue their ambitions”. That is not a perception it is a fact of life in Malaysia. The chutzpah of this guy is, he suggests a quota, what the hell for? To screw more Non Malays again?

Non-Malays in armed forces: Ample opportunity for the deserving to shine from the NST 22 Nov 2010 . They mention Teoh Siang Chang, 55, who served in the Royal Malaysian Air Force for the past 36 years, was made a Brigadier General, S. Mahendra, 51, from the army, was made a Colonel on Oct 15. On Nov 1, Stephen Mundaw a Dayak, 52, was made a General in the armed forces, a first for the Dayak community. They forgot to mention “Brigadier”, which is a one star General. Look at the case of Teoh, 36 years of service, makes it to Brigadier, patience is definitely a virtue. If he had joined the Air Force at the age of 18, how old is that, he is 55 years old! In the military anyone above 50 years of age is considered to be in the the twilight years . But then again people with the rank of Colonels and Brigadier Generals are “dime a dozen" . They do not rise above that and that too are given their promotions very late in their career.

They throw some crumbs, to placate the people, to pull wool over their eyes. Here are some of the Non Malays I know who left the service, after slogging years in their stagnant ranks, disappointed, Lt Col Mah Chok Sai, Lt Col Chua Eng Lye, Lt Col Don Too Heng Onn, Lt Col Yap Chok Sang, Lt Col Yap Poh Meng, Major Wong Heng Ging, Major Fabian Bangkong, Captain Kang, Major Harbhajan Singh, Major Christopher Joseph, Major Lee Hock Soon, Major Joseph Chandy, Captain Hareedranathan, Major KD Richard, Captain Ravinthar, Captain Kang, Captain Manisegaran and you know what? These are guys I knew and just rattled them off the cuff. Can you imagine the number of Non Malay names that Mindef can give out?

Yes, one more thing. "They discriminated against you whilst you are in service and ignore your religious rites when you are killed in action There is absolutely no pastoral care for non Malays-dead or alive. Why cannot we have some kind of chaplain service for the Non Malays. I can recall vividly when Ray Chandran was killed in action, we obviously could not use the madarasah but have had to look for an obscure place in Suvla Lines to wash him and had the most senior Hindu soldier to give him his last rites according to his religion. Why can't the Army provide these services?" Old timer 1 Rgr in comments.

Until blatant discrimination based on race and religion, are addressed, the number of Non Malays in the military will remain small and further diminish. This did not happen overnight, it happened over a period of 22 years, when our Great Leader was in charge. Maybe it is an unwritten policy, silently being advocated. To win over the Malay votes this insults are showered upon the Non Malays from time to time.

We will not grin and bear it any longer, when push comes to shove . Until and when the political elite address the real issues, I mean the real issues instead of spinning tall tales and burying one's head in the sand, this problem will not be adressed. Face up to the real causes, be a man !! When already in a deep hole, there is no need to dig oneself any deeper, just grovel and apologise, it is rightly, the honourable thing to do. I am not suggesting that you do it the Japanese way, of course many would wish for that to happen, face reality this is Malaysia. Everyone will accept it, and just move on. Once again, it is racial discrimination and religious bigotry, period.