Former defence forces chief Mohamed Hashim Mohd Ali made the clarion call to all citizens to demonstrate their patriotism and duly serve the government of the day. This, he said, would help continue to uphold Malaysia as a great nation.
“We, as a multiracial community, have all come a long way through trials and tribulations.
“Our struggles helped us achieve independence, followed by threats from the two Emergency periods, the Confrontation with Indonesia, the May 13 racial riots, as well as the insurgencies with the Communist Party of Malaya and the North Kalimantan Communist Party in Sarawak.
“We should not let past trivial matters cloud us and disrupt our unity and progress. Accept reality and let us move on positively,” said Hashim at the Retired Armed Forces Officers Corps Association (Rafoc) Aidilfitri reunion at the Sungai Besi camp’s Army Officers’ Mess recently.
Rafoc president Abdul Aziz Ibrahim and its members simultaneously hosted Hashim, who turned 90 on April 10, to a belated birthday bash with a cake.
“Do not hate people, be revengeful, arrogant or be jealous of other people’s success. Our path has been determined by the Almighty and we should be thankful and blessed with whatever we have,” he said.
Hashim is the second-most senior surviving armed forces service chief after the country’s first local Royal Malaysian Air Force chief air-vice marshal Sulaiman Sujak, who turned 91 on March 25.
K Thanabalasingam, who served as the first local Royal Malaysian Navy chief, is the third oldest, having turned 89 on March 12.
Hashim comes from an illustrious family, four of whom were bestowed the title Tun – the third highest after the Seri Pahlawan Gagah Perkasa supreme gallantry award and the Darjah Kerabat Diraja Malaysia – by the king.
His late older brother Ismail Mohd Ali was a Bank Negara governor (1962-80), while older sister Siti Hasmah, 98, and her husband former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad, 99, were all bestowed the same title.
Hashim is the second officer after the late Ibrahim Ismail – the country’s fifth defence forces chief – to be made a Tun in 2000.
“I look forward to many more years of cordial liaison with my fellow officers and men, many of whom are ageing yet have not lost their spirit of camaraderie,” said Hashim, who was raised on Jalan Peel in Kuala Lumpur and went to Victoria Institution.
Hashim attended the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst from 1955 to 1957 before being commissioned as a second-lieutenant into the Royal Malay Regiment.
He rose through the ranks to become brigadier-general at Rajang Area Security Command in Sibu, Sarawak, and was appointed as the ninth defence forces chief from Oct 6,1987 to April 9, 1992 before his retirement.
In service, Hashim saw active duty in operations against the communist terrorists during the first (1948-60) and second (1968-89) Emergencies, the Confrontation with Indonesia (Jan 20, 1963-Aug 11, 1966) and during the May 13, 1969 racial riots.
Hashim was one of the representatives of the government to sign the Peace Accord in Hat Yai, Thailand with the laying of arms by the Communist Party of Malaya on Dec 2, 1989.
After retirement, he was appointed as director to a number of government-linked and private companies, including the Armed Forces Superannuation Fund and Perwira Niaga Malaysia.
He was also appointed as Sukom ’98 chairman, responsible for running the XVI Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur that year.