“The invaders came armed for war,” he said. “There was no need for kid gloves. The matter should have been left to the army.
“We should have wiped them out immediately. There was no need to wait. We waited and good men died.”
Arshad, who once served as Deputy Commander of the Royal Malaysian Army’s 5 Brigade in Sabah, was speaking to FMT about security issues in the East Malaysian state.
He said a decisive military action against the Sulu invaders would have sent a strong message to those who sought to harm Malaysia’s peace.
He also said security on Sabah’s east coast was difficult to control because of the large presence in the area of people with ties to Philippines’ troubled south.
It would always be difficult to separate the people of the southern Philippines from Malaysian citizens of Filipino descent, he added.
“It is like trying to distinguish between the people of southern Thailand and Kelantan,” he said. “Man-made borders can separate them, but they are essentially the same people with a similar culture and way of life.
“So can we trust those of foreign descent to be loyal to us? It’s difficult because the people in the southern Philippines can influence those in Sabah.”
He said citizens of Filipino descent wouldn’t be loyal to the country as long as they didn’t see themselves as Malaysian.
“When we talk about loyalty to the country, it starts with people identifying themselves as Malaysian first.”
He said too much talk about race was not helping matters. “We shouldn’t see ourselves as Malays, Chinese or Indians but as Malaysians first. All the talk on race holds us back.”
Arshad last served as the Royal Malaysian Army’s Chief of Staff for Field Headquarters.