A group of army veterans said Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng should not have needed to contact Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi for military aid for the state's flood relief efforts.

Persatuan Patriot Kebangsaan president Mohd Arshad Raji said there are standard operating procedures in place that are supposed to activate automatically in case of natural disasters, such as floods.

“When I read about the chief minister calling on the deputy prime minister for military help… that is not the right way...