PETALING JAYA: The National Patriots Association (Patriot) has lashed out at businessman Koon Yew Yin for his views on the military.

Patriot president Brig-Jen (Rtd) Datuk Mohamed Arshad Raji (pic) said it was regrettable to see such a respectable person mentioning in his blog that armed forces personnel are “doing nothing except eating and sleeping and that some of them should replace the foreign workers in the Felda plantations”.

"This is the second time in less than two months someone has viewed military personnel as cheap labour.

"The first time was when former Sabah Chief Minister Harris Salleh suggested redirecting excess military personnel to 'assist the government uplift and stabilise the rural village community', including sending them to work as security guards and the women personnel to help clean houses and conduct courses for housewives, " he said in a statement Wednesday (Aug 14).

He added that the suggestions from both men were ridiculous and showed their sheer ignorance of the role of the armed forces.

"It is true that after 1989, the war with communist insurgents ended. However, currently we have our troops in foreign peace-keeping missions, maritime patrols and guarding our national borders. These are missions where our men in uniform are in harm’s way, " he said.

He said being in peacetime does not mean the military personnel are doing nothing, as what Koon opined.

"Their main preoccupation is to train for war. This, the civilians and politicians cannot comprehend as they do not see the possibility of any war.

"They are also on perpetual alert to help the civilian authorities in case of natural disaster. The strength of our armed forces, the discipline and high morale of our military personnel by itself is necessary as a deterrent against any form of threat and aggression.

"It gives clout to our nation’s leaders when dealing with foreign leaders. If our military is disorganised, poorly trained, ill disciplined and low in morale, our leaders lose esteem and gain no respect, an element very necessary in international relations, " he said.

Mohamed Arshad said that when soldiers train, they train to kill.

"From field craft to tactics to strategies, depending on the level of command, the fighting men and women operate as a cohesive fighting force.

"They are professional killers and many are highly skilled in their own respective roles. They do jobs civilians could not do.

"They are trained to go through and be able to endure hardship. All of them understood that the moment they enlisted, they have to be prepared to die for the success of any vital mission, " he said.

He called on Koon and all politicians to change the way they view military personnel.

"They are certainly not cheap labour. They are trained professional killers our nation cannot do without, " he said.