BUSINESS tycoon Koon Yew Yin today apologised to the armed forces for his article stating that they should be put to work as all they did was eat and sleep, which had evoked anger and criticism from veterans and opposition groups.

“I apologise if I have hurt the feelings of the security forces,” the IJM Corporation founder told Utusan Online on WhatsApp today.

Koon, however, maintained that his suggestions had merit and that it was the way he had made them that had given offence.

“I should have said that the military is needed to defend us in times of war but in times of peace they should do other jobs to increase our economy,” he said .

Koon had suggested on his blog that armed forces personnel replace foreign workers on the Felda plantations as one of the means to address the country’s bloated civil service.

“As you know, the armed forces personnel are doing nothing except eating and sleeping,” he wrote.

“In fact, almost all of them have never fired a shot except at target practice. Some of them should replace the foreign workers in the Felda plantations.”

The article has since been removed. 

His remarks drew fire from veterans group National Patriots Association (Patriot) and Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM).

Patriot said such a call showed ignorance of the role of the armed forces.

“They are certainly not cheap labour. They are trained professional killers our nation cannot do without,” said Patriot president Mohamed Arshad Raji.

PSM reminded Koon that the armed forces kept him safe while he slept

Koon also drew the attention of Deputy Defence Minister Liew Chin Tong who said the military’s role remained misunderstood even though he had explained it at length. 

“During peacetime, the military has the role of assisting the agencies and taking part in international missions. The military is the last resort for the country,” he said in a statement today. 

Liew said misconceptions were evident in the Koon’s article as well as the statement of former Sabah chief minister Harris Salleh, calling for role of the armed forces to be reviewed in view of the country’s financial position. 

Harris had wanted the MPs to move a motion to review the role of the armed forces so that the billions saved could be put into rehabilitating the economy, which has taken a severe beating due to numerous scandals, including the 1MDB affair.

He said army personnel not deployed to guard the country’s borders should be rented out to private companies as security guards as well as sent to build a road along the Thai border for patrol purposes.

Liew said these misconceptions were deeply regretted. 

“I urge all Malaysians, regardless of their race, economic class, military or civilians to understand the role and the sacrifices of our military and to be more careful when issuing such statements in the future.”