GE14 | PAS veterans’ affairs secretariat (Kerabat) president Mohd Nazari Mokhtar has urged members of the armed forces to vote for PAS, highlighting the fact that the party is fielding a large number of veterans as election candidates.

The retired lieutenant-colonel said PAS had specifically picked 10 veterans as parliamentary candidates and 14 as state assembly candidates for this election, compared to just four in the previous election who just happened to be veterans.

“That means if the people especially veterans, their spouses, and (serving) military personnel give them their support, these veterans will bring forward their aspirations as veterans.

“If given the mandate, they will speak in Parliament as policymakers and thereby bring changes to (veterans’) welfare, and also a lot of input from the Malaysian Armed Forces,” he told a press conference at the Kedah PAS headquarters today.

Nazari added that he believed there wouldn’t be as many veterans fielded from other parties. 

Also present at the press conference were Kedah PAS commissioner Ahmad Fakhruddin Sheikh Fakhrurrazi, who thanked the Election Commission (EC) for its cooperation in sending out postal votes yesterday morning, and urged those heading for advance polls on May 5 to give PAS a chance.

According to biodata previously circulated by Kedah PAS, the only ex-military election candidate fielded by the party in the state is the retired major Mansor Zakaria, who is contesting for the Kuala Ketil state seat.

'Let subordinates vote freely'

Meanwhile, Nazari urged armed forces generals and commanding officers to have an open heart (“berlapang dada”) this election by allowing their subordinates to vote for the candidates of their choice, and ideally issue a statement that simply tells them to vote “for the best choice”.

“We ask that there would be no statements that seemingly stifle the freedom of personnel and officers to choose the party of their liking to become the future government,” he said.

Asked if he is implying that military officers direct their subordinates on whom to vote, Nazari said this sometimes happen. However, he said this does not necessarily come in the form of a verbal command.

Instead, he said military personnel who support “certain parties” may find their positions in jeopardy, such as by being transferred to another posting, which would have a chilling effect on the rest of the ranks.

It may also be the case that military personnel are extremely loyal to their leaders, he said, adding that they may support BN simply because their officers also support BN.