March 6, 2013
Lahad Datu Incursion: Ex-Army Chief rues lack of clear chain of command
by Hafiz Yatim@http://www.malaysiakini.com
There is no clear chain of command with regard to what is happening in Lahad Datu, says former army chief Gen (Rtd) Md Hashim Hussein.
When you have such a situation, Md Hashim said, there must be a clear command structure. “This is needed to coordinate the operations. Right now, I think it is not there,” he said.
However, Md Hashim (right), who retired in 2002, admitted that a clear assessment of the ground situation was needed.
In contrast, he said, the Sauk incident in Perak was resolved in four days, with the right personnel.
“We managed to resolve it due to a clear command structure, clear orders, clear control, plus we had the right troops for the task,” he said.
The retired general also warned the government against using information war to blackout incidents such as what was going on in Lahad Datu. “As for the information warfare that they use… What a tangled web we weave if we begin to deceive”.
Md Hashim also announced that he has officially joined PKR today and voiced his support for Pakatan Rakyat. Formerly Malaysia’s Ambassador to Pakistan, Md. Hashim said he is attracted to the leadership of Anwar Ibrahim, who was his schoolmate in the Malay College Kuala Kangsar (MCKK).
“He has managed to harmonise Pakatan, all ethnic communities and Malaysia, and this is due to Anwar’s leadership quality,” he said.
“I find the Pakatan leaders have the right leadership qualities and can lead the country. I also verify the claims made by my former number two, Lt-Gen Abdul Ghafir Abdul Hamid, on the wastage and leakages in army spending,” he said.
‘Barracks and facilities in bad shape’
Md Hashim, who was first commander to the Malaysian batallion in Bosnia-Herzogovina, said he had gone to some of the army camps up north to verify the claims made by Abdul Ghafir. He said he had seen that army conditions are indeed in a bad shape, including their homes, barracks, washroom and also armaments.
“There was a former senior Air Force officer that reminded that there were no proper spare parts for aircraft, however, this person had been admonished by the (BN) politicians,” he claimed.
Md Hashim said he expected to receive brickbats for voicing his support for Pakatan, but assured that he had carefully thought about the matter after discussing with some of his former officers.
The former top army personnel said that the Pakatan leadership had been coercing him to make an appearance, and he thinks that there was a need to strategise his entrance into the party to bring the desired impact.
Over the past few weeks, several former armed forces top guns had voiced their support towards Pakatan. Abdul Ghafir had even pledged, during a Pakatan convention, that the army will ensure a smooth transition should the Opposition come into power after the general election.
Din Merican: the Malaysian DJ Blogger 
This 4-star retired general was the army chief when Najib was the Minister of Defense. Let’s see what he has to say about those exciting times at the ministry.
Need to be cautious; could he be another Trojan horse? It used to be only love and war but now all is fair in politics too.
Where’s the blog’s 5-star General Tok Cik??
As for the information warfare that they use… What a tangled web we weave if we begin to deceive”…the general said..
of course la..i’ve told u many times..haji najib will be portrayed as 1malaya hero coz he is the one that help crush this incidence, i.e. his so called authorization?? that’s is their game of play?
Bean,
I prefer Tok Cik to be general where he sent a crack team led by Semper Fi to Lahad Datu to kao tim all Spartans (Sorry, Suluans) in Sabah. Hak55 can do the planning & coordination on the plane above.
Watch the show, Road to Entebbe before…..The Isrealis can successfully rescued hostages from PLO/Idi Amin.
Guess why I say……Send singaporeans who are training right now in Brunei to Sabah in Malaysia uniform….Sure beres one
General Tan Sri Hashim should know better that the chain of command used to deal with this Lahad Datu incident has not been tried out during his time. This is the first time the security forces are using it. The Police remains in overall charge with the Armed Forces in assistance (not in the usual POPO situation but in skirmishes) as this is to be regarded as an internal/domestic matter created by foreign criminals from the Phillipines which itself disagreed with and “disowned” the criminal actions. The defunct so-called sultanate has no sovereignty of territory.
I am here, Bean.
Hashim looks gaunt, tired and old. What has come of him? Too much in his head, I supposed. He’s known to his peers and friends as Hashim “Jack Palace” – an allusion to his resemblance to the famous movie actor.
I wonder what has prompted Hashim to do the unthinkable? I feel it goes beyond soldiers’ barracks and welfare, as he has claimed. Being an Askar Melayu thoroughbred one is supposed to swear allegiance to the ruling party – Umno.
He used to tease Amin and I for our anti-establishment stance, saying it would affect our promotional prospects. We laughed it off.
Hashim went on to become the army chief and upon retirement was given a juicy appointment as the High Commissioner to Pakistan. You must be a good polisher to earn such reward.
Hashim doing an about-turn (belakang pusing) has caught many of us by surprise. However, I am least surprised by Ghafir’s pronouncement. He never tow the line when he was the deputy army chief and was by-passed a few times before he called it quits. But for diggers like yours truly, the misery end was simply too clear.