Thanks Delta Lima and Chong Sim Chung for alerting me to this article.
This is another attempt of making a mountain out of a molehill.
NSOF is not a new paramilitary unit.
It is an attempt by Malaysian government to emulate US Joint Special Operations Command or better known as US JSOC.
The men in NSOF are either military or police personnel, drawn from all different special operations personnel from Army's GGK, Navy's PASKAL, Air Force PASKAU, Police VAT69 and UTK.
So technically they have commission from His Majesty Yang Dipertuan Agong and will follow His Majesty's command.
NSOF was formed to face threats from emerging non-state actors which usually blur the line of responsibility between Armed Forces (external threat) and Police (internal threat).
There were questions why not having the units to be place under the aegis of the Armed Forces' Markas Angkatan Bersama (MAB), or Joint-Operations Command.
But my guess would be that if it is under MAB, it would be given that the unit will be led solely by the Armed Forces, which may not be favourable to VAT69 and UTK.
Anyway, I do not see a stretch from existing operational framework for these units. In fact, during the Emergency Era, the British did formed what is known as National War Committee, consist of civilians, police and military personnel. At state and district level, these are known as State War Committee and District War Committee respectively.
Back to the formation of both NSOF and NSC.
As the line between police work and military duties blurred, there would be times when immediate and decisive actions will be required. Ideally, His Majesty's consent should be sought to activate the military. But the delay may result in loss of territories and lives.
This has always been taken advantage off by militant and terrorist groups. By targeting their actions on the civilian government, they tried to legitimise their actions as in support of the Regent. In fact, I could rattle a few examples, but that would turn this post into a political rant, if you get the drift.
I'm also rather disturbed by how the Cilisos tried to portray the threats that our country is facing today. By saying that there's no threat, that is actually absurd.
Every day, there are new threats emerging. 10 years ago, you would not have heard of Royal Sulu Forces, nor Daish. 20 years ago, you would not have heard of Kumpulan Mujahidin Malaysia or Al Maunah. But they existed. And they have spilled blood all the way from Malaysia to Bali, to Philippines, to Jakarta and most recent to the streets of Aleppo, Raqqa, Mosul and many other places.
So if you choose to ignore these threats, be ready to face the consequences.
Of course, many of you may believe these are manufactured threats. Or no such threats exist. But I'm reminded of that whenever I take the train to Puchong, passing the Movida club, that these threats exist. Or when I passed by Bangsar's lively night scene, where a group of militants had planned to detonate some bombs during the Millennium celebration. Or even the attempt to attack this year's National Day celebration.
Why have you not heard most this? Because men and women made of sterner stuff has made sure these devil incarnate could not harm you. And they need our hand to support them further.
of course, your arguments are on point. i just need one thing: an assurance that incidents such as SOSMA-detainings will never repeat itself.
ReplyDeleteHave you seen any detention like that of USA which are non-challengeable in court?
ReplyDeleteAnd the first and only time the government tried to do that with SOSMA, it was thrown out of court.
It tells us that we are worried too much over nothing. That the days of ISA detention is long gone.
Have you seen any detention like that of USA which are non-challengeable in court?
ReplyDeleteAnd the first and only time the government tried to do that with SOSMA, it was thrown out of court.
It tells us that we are worried too much over nothing. That the days of ISA detention is long gone.
Interesting article.
ReplyDeleteBoth your points and cilisos' point are mostly valid, but in 2 different points of view (POV), approaches and concerns: Your concern are mostly in national defense strategy and tactics (yes, the police and military are sometime have slow response due to the blurs between foreign invasion and local terrorism, unexperiences OpsDaulat for example), while cilisos' concern are on the effect of such implementation on civil right and democracy. (alot of blur and uncertainty can be found from the current strategies of national security, which may decay the civil rights and democracy of our country)
So...yeah, I agree your points and cilisos' points.
Plus, cilisos did not deny the threat of national security, it just more concerning of our civil right.
Five years ago you would not have heard of financial terrorists like MO1 and JHO
ReplyDelete20 years ago, you would have been thrown into Kamunting fir such a reply.
DeleteAnd you're wrong. We still have Romanian president and the family.
20 years ago, you would have been thrown into Kamunting fir such a reply.
DeleteAnd you're wrong. We still have Romanian president and the family.
I like material like this. This is a great article and I really enjoyed reading it. You have an original style that makes your ideas stand out from other writers. security services in London
ReplyDelete