According to Bernama, army chief Zamrose Mohd Zain said the soldier had previously undergone four counselling sessions but it was to no avail as he still refused to take the vaccine.

“The army will consider reinstating him if he is willing to get vaccinated, and I am confident government officials are taking appropriate action.

“We will hand over everything that this soldier deserves,” Zamrose was quoted as saying by Bernama.

On Monday, FMT reported that Sergeant Wan Ramly Wan Seman was given a dishonourable discharge for refusing to be vaccinated for Covid-19.

Wan Ramly had said he had 19 years of service under his belt without any disciplinary record. He stands to lose his pension for which he would have qualified within 16 months.

The army then responded by saying that the vaccination was compulsory for all army personnel unless they were ineligible to receive the vaccine. It added that anyone who violated the rule, or refused to receive the vaccine, would be subject to disciplinary action.

Zamrose said that the army only wanted to ensure that the actions of one individual would not affect the rest of its 86,000 members.

“The army feels he (Wan Ramly) is unsuitable because the army works in groups and it does not want any implications for other members of the team if he is the only one who does not want the vaccine,” he said, the national news agency reported.

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