Army Was "Excessively Used Like Slaves" During National Mourning Ceremony For MH17 Victims

A Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) delegate Mohamad Imran Abdul Hamid said the government’s mourning ceremony for the MH17 victims was excessive and overly done, as compared to the ones carried out for policemen and soldiers who were killed during the Lahad Datu intrusion.

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The delegate from Perak, Mohamad Imran Abdul Hamid who is also the Lumut member of Parliament also called the Lahad Datu intrusion as a ‘drama’, planned by certain quarters. "When we look at it, our soldiers were buried in a simpler manner which is totally different from the ceremony for the victims of MH17 which were well planned,” he said at the party’s national congress at Stadium Malawati today.

“Meticulous arrangements were made for the ceremony for the MH17 victims. However, only a simple ceremony was given to the 10 security personnel. “I did not say that it is wrong but I believe that the Government went overboard,” he said, when debating the presidential policy speech at the 10th National Congress, here, Saturday.

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“It is not that we should not (ceremony for Mh17 victims) but we see that as an overly done ceremony by the government,” he added. Mohamad Imran had also called on the government to explain its 'excessiveness' in the mourning ceremony for the MH17 victim.

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“Its not that we are not saddened by their deaths but we want to know why ouor fighters in Lahad Datu were not accorded such ceremonies? This is what the government should explain,” he added.

“The attacks in Sabah has been happening since 1986, 1991, 1990 but there were not civil action taken by the government,” he said. “But in 2003, three months before the general election, Lahad Datu intrusion happens and shoot-outs were carried out. I would say Lahad Datu is a drama,” he added.

Ahmad Nizam said that there were still factions in the party that posed a challenge for members to work with one another. “The party also does not tolerate dissenting views among members,” he said.

A delegate from Baram, Roland Enggan, also called on the party leadership to settle the crisis in Selangor, claiming that it would affect the party’s performance in coming elections.

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In a statement here, MCA Youth secretary-general Leong Kim Soon said Mohamad Imran had shown disrespect with his words, particularly as he had uttered them at a time when the nation was still grieving the deaths of its people aboard the ill-fated jetliner.

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"While the nation is mourning, Imran’s politicking has hurt the feelings of the public," Leong said. "As such he should be investigated by the police for insulting the victims and families of MH17 and for questioning the government’s motives in paying tribute to them."

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Leong also demanded that Mohamad Imran apologise for his remarks, first to the victims' family members and finally, to the country.

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"As an elected representative, he has failed to understand that this national tragedy has nothing to do with politics, and that the government is not being arrogant in organising a national day of mourning so that the entire nation can grieve for the victims of MH17," the politician said. He said the military honour accorded to the victims was the government's way of paying tribute to them to give them the dignity they deserved.

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Leong reminded Mohamad Imran that the government has also vowed to bring the perpetrators behind the downing of the aircraft to justice, regardless how long it takes. "Thus, Imran’s behavior in questioning the government’s motives is irrational and a disappointment to the public who had elected him," the MCA man said.

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"The families of the warriors of Lahad Datu know what the government is doing to look after and honour those who have died...(the accusation) is not too serious, but it tries to cast aspersions on the government's treatment of the warriors of Lahad Datu," he said. He was speaking to reporters after opening the Ipoh Timor Umno division meeting today.

On the Lahad Datu warriors, Hishammuddin said national sovereignty medals were created for them, adding that they were specially designed by Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak. "How we took care of the bodies of the warriors who were killed... The government had also met their families who were at that time, in grief...so was I," he added.

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Hishammuddin stressed that the act of questioning the efforts of the government in giving the same honour to the victims of the MH17 and MH370 aircraft tragedies and the warriors of Lahad Datu should stop. "If we don't explain, it will spill over into the social media. They don't know what had happened. In the end, the good we have done, recognised by the world on Friday, will be nullified," noted the minister.

He said the PKR leader might not know that every one of the soldiers involved, when met, felt their involvement was an honour.

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"It is a statement which is seen as capable of triggering anger in the army. Don't heed the voice of one or two, maybe there is an emptiness in their soul, they do not decide the dignity of Malaysian soldiers," he added.