The Malaysian Armed Forces (MAF) should have been proud of the moment and savour it: a Sandhurst-trained Yang Dipertuan Agung, the first ever, inspecting the guard of honour on his official birthday on June 5 at the Dataran Merdeka in Kuala Lumpur.

It is rare for the King to be conscious of military traditions - only one other had that insight. Instead, the MAF let its supreme commander-in-chief down.

To the public at large, and all who care not what the armed forces stand for, all went well and they had a jolly good time. The old Land Rovers are gone. In its place came gleaming Lexus open-hooded sports utility vehicles.

And with them, a distinct lack of professionalism that was once its metier. The spartan conditions of old was deliberate: one does not go to war in luxury vehicles. Some brilliant functionary in the defence department and protocol department must have come up with these luxury vehicles, not the functional military vehicles, the Land Rover.

Everything went spic and span. The oohs and the aahs of the crowd at this display of pomp and ceremony should have caused many an unmilitary civil servant glow with pride at a job well done. No doubt, the armed forces chiefs would also have been proud of the moment, nudging each other as if to show what "our" boys are capable of.

The bungle

Nothing could be further from the truth. The MAF's preparations for what should have been its highlight for the year were - to mince no words - shoddy, demeaning, utterly irresponsible. It should hang its head in shame. This raises doubts about its readiness for battle, let alone war.

The armed forces prepare for war in peace-time, their waking hours spent on training and preparing the troops for war. Which is why officers and men in most countries present a professional front: they train and re-train for battle and war, in readiness and high alert at all times, so that they act instinctively when danger or conflict beckons.

Preparing for the guard of honour would, or should, have begun months earlier. Nothing should have been left to chance. The details should be checked, re-checked, and re-checked again, until there could be no mistake, mishap. They were not. And it was left to the world to find out how unprofessional the MAF has turned out to be.

If the MAF could make the unpardonable mistake of placing upside down the King's ensign of the field marshal, how could we in confidence expect that when push comes to shove, the armed forces would not run helter-skelter because it forgot, or did not bother about, the details and went to battle without weapons?