Ex-military men say graft risks lives of soldiers

Several former military personnel, who claimed to have spent decades in the force, today shared stories of how corruption within the Defence Ministry had left soldiers hanging out to dry.

One man, who spoke to Malaysiakini on the sidelines of a forum of corruption in the defence industry, said irregular practices had left soldiers with amputated legs, with many now “suffering in silence”.

According to the man who refused to be named for fear of retribution, civilian personnel had thrown their military recommendations aside to purchase sub-par equipment which put lives at stake.

“We bought the AK 33 machine gun which jammed up after three rounds, so much so that soldiers were throwing their weapons to the ground and charging with parangs,” he said, referring to an unnamed operation.

In another instance in the 1970s, he said, soldiers suffered infections which led to amputations when their boots became “a block of rust” as zinc plating was used instead of aluminium.

The boots, which were supposed to protect the soldiers’ feet from spikes in booby traps in jungle warfare, failed to do so as they rusted as soldiers trudged through the rainforest.

In another instance, he said, ponchos were of such bad quality that they left soldiers soaking.

“I was in the jungle crying in the cold because someone had made money somewhere,” he said at the Transparency International event in Subang.

Bad quality food was supplied to the personnel and officers who rejected the food for their staff would be posted elsewhere as punishment, the man alleged.

“They don’t care. I believe it still continues. It is the soldiers who suffer,” he said.

‘Rotten equipment’

Supporting his case was another retired colonel, who said that the ministry signed off on a deal for equipment worth hundreds of millions despite his recommendation against it.

More purchases were made of the same thing to the tune of billions of ringgit after he left the service, he shared.

“They were rotten buys, rotten scrap metal...

“We are stupid. Other countries may be corrupted, too, but they get the right system.

“We spend a lot of money and get rubbish,” said the retired serviceman, who also declined to be named.

A third retired military personnel said the question was whether we are using “artillery to kill a mosquito and a shotgun to kill an elephant”.

Transparency International Malaysia exco member and retired major Rozni Hashim added that defence companies also share the blame.

He said that equipment purchased for the Scorpene submarines did not fit the specifications of the vessel, and that the OEM (original equipment manufacturer) supplier would have known this.

Instead, he said, they sold it anyway, making them complicit in the wrongdoing.

“It’s like putting in an engine of a lorry into your Proton Saga. The person selling you the engine would tell you it doesn’t fit,” he told Malaysiakini later.

‘Customisation doubles costs’

Also speaking from the floor was DAP MP for Petaling Jaya Utara Tony Pua, who had previously raised several queries on big ticket item purchases by the Defence Ministry.

To his question, TI-UK’s defence expert Mark Pyman (right) said that it is difficult to make price comparisons between models due to customisation.

However, it is in the best interests of the government that customisation is kept at a bare minimum as it disproportionately drives costs up.

“It doubles the base price before you can say good morning. It’s not value for money, difficult and dangerous,” he said.

He also said that awarding tenders directly to military-linked companies is also “not a win-win situation” as it creates a monopoly.

Pyman also said that it is important that the Auditor-General has a specific audit only on defence, like in the UK where “thorough” checks are undergone leading to the annual “embarrassment” of the Defence Ministry.

Meanwhile, former defence journalist Lam Chong Wah, who had seven years of experience on the beat, said the media find tremendous difficulty scrutinising the industry as Malaysia does not practice an open defence policy.

“There is no procurement list, we don’t know what Malaysia plans to buy.

“You want to debate the defence policy but there is no official policy, so what’s to debate?” asked Lam, who is now a parliamentary aide to an MP.