Patriots president Brigadier-General (Rtd) Mohamed Arshad Raji said the armed forces and police should always remember their pledge to serve King and country first, besides the protection of the people and their properties.
“When the armed forces and the police adopt a partisan leaning and take instructions from politicians, then the nation is damned.
“Our armed forces and police must take the lessons from the Philippine experience that saw the eviction of President Ferdinand Marcos in the 1980s through a movement that came to be known as ‘people power’, and how the armed forces and police stood firmly by the side of the people, to ensure democracy prevailed,” Arshad said.
He added that Malaysians only want to see the orderly return to power should the incumbent ruling political coalition be victorious, or the smooth transition of power to the opposition coalition should they win the election.
Arshad also warned against spreading rumours of the possibility of an unrest, should either political party win or lose the election, saying such talk must be suppressed at the outset.
“It must not be allowed to fester and the authorities must come down hard against the perpetrators of such sinister plans to create fear and confusion.
“Both the armed forces and the police being the guardians of peace, law and order must already have its intelligence network deployed throughout the country to sniff out any attempt by undesirable elements to create unrest prior to and post the election period,” he said.
Though Arshad did not mention any names nor details, he seemed to be alluding to reports last week about former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad urging Malaysians to take to the streets should Prime Minister Najib Razak declare an emergency to avoid calling for GE14.
Communications and Multimedia Minister Salleh Said Keruak responded to the PPBM chairman in a statement on his blog last Monday, saying Mahathir’s advice was “misplaced” as Najib was not a dictator to resort to such a move and as such, would never declare an emergency just to stay in power.
Critical moment
Meanwhile, Arshad reminded the security forces that it must remain united and cohesive throughout the pre- and post-GE14 period, until a government is formally announced, and any transition of power, should the opposition win the election, is officially concluded.
“Members of the armed forces and police must be able to distinguish what is a lawful order and what isn’t, especially at the critical moment when the election results are yet to be known, to formally decide which contending party forms the legitimate government.
“It is at this critical moment that public disorder could develop by those that are unhappy with the election results, and it is left entirely to the police, and assisted by the armed forces, to act within the bounds of the law to quell any dissenting action.”
He added that Patriots has full confidence that the armed forces and the police will play an effective role to enforce law and order, regardless of which political party wins in GE14.
Veterans group to Umno: Grow up, stop fanning racial sentiments