Sunday, July 20, 2014

Ipoh Echo: Indiscretion in Kiwiland

Ipoh Echo's Editorial By Fathol Zaman Bukhari helps to dispel some misconceptions about Rizalman.

Highlights:

'I was appalled when the Ministry of Defence announced that Rizalman would be court-martialled instead. How could he be tried in a military court when the offence was committed abroad with the principal witness a native of New Zealand? It certainly does not make sense. On second thought, does anything in the country make sense anymore?

Rizalman’s extradition to New Zealand, meanwhile, has been put on hold as the military authorities are not satisfied with his mental well-being. Frankly speaking, does an alleged felon require that much assurance?'

'Rizalman is a non-commissioned officer (NCO) with the rank of a Warrant Officer Class Two or WO 2, in short. Not a second warrant officer, as is widely reported in the news media. There are two categories of warrant officers – WO 1 and WO 2. These are the highest achievable ranks for enlisted men in the armed forces – army, navy and air force. Below them are the lance corporals, corporals, sergeants and staff sergeants.'

'Rizalman is not a military attaché and neither is he a diplomat. He is simply a staff of the military attaché, someone who is at the beck and call of the colonel (rank of military attaché) and does his bidding like all good soldiers do.

The criteria for selection for an overseas posting are not as stringent as they were before. In  those days, one’s fluency in the English language was a must. Today with many having a poor command of English, officers included, a grasp of the language is considered sufficient. That is how low we have come over the decades.

Those picked for an overseas posting undergo a short orientation course in Port Dickson or at Wisma Putra (Foreign Ministry). And the lessons, mind you, include dining etiquette, conversational skills, social mannerism and taboos.

Preference normally goes to NCOs from the Intelligence Corps since the job of service attachés, the world over, is mainly to snoop on the military of the host country. I did my share of discreet snooping when attending courses and field exercises in Indonesia, Australia and the United States of America.  

When Rizalman’s impropriety hit the headlines on Monday, June 30 after New Zealand Prime Minister John Kay broke his silence on the alleged sexual assault, Rizalman and his family were already in Kuala Lumpur.'

Rest of editorial:
http://www.ipohecho.com.my/v3/article/2014/07/16/indiscretion-in-kiwiland
Link

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