AMPANG: The National Association of Patriots (PPK) has welcomed the move to ensure a 10% annual intake of non-Malays into the Malaysian Armed Forces (ATM) but questioned whether other races would be interested in joining the military.

Speaking to FMT, the veteran group’s president Brig-Gen (Rtd) Mohamed Arshad Raji said as a society living in a multiracial country, there should be no barriers to all races joining the armed forces.

“The problem is that it is quite difficult to get the other races to join the military.

“It is something that even I do not know why.

“We’ve been encouraging the Chinese and Indians to join in the military but they themselves don’t seem to be interested.”

Armed Forces chief Raja Mohamed Affandi Raja Mohamed Noor recently said he hoped to see more recruits from all races.

He also wants to see more of them enrol in the Royal Military College (MTD).

He was confident of achieving the target with the support of various parties and the media.

“The involvement of other races in the Armed Forces is so we can share the responsibility of defending the sovereignty of the nation.”

Arshad said the salary scheme had been improved and places for education provided at the Universiti Pertahanan Nasional Malaysia (UPNM) to encourage more non-Malays to enlist.

“But it would be an uphill battle to get the 10% enrolment.”

Armed Forces wants to see more of the other races in the force