Segamat camp not ready but army staff have to man it

Asila Jalil Asila Jalil Updated 6 years ago · Published on 27 Nov 2017 11:15PM · 2 Comments

Deputy Defence Minister Mohd Johari Baharum says a few national service camps are being used as temporary camps in Segamat. – The Malaysian Insight file pic, November 27, 2017.

MILITARY personnel are stationed in Segamat although the army camp has yet to be completed, said Mohd Johari Baharum (BN-Kubang Pasu) in Parliament today.

“The camp is incomplete. But our personnel have to be there to run operations. That’s why they are stationed there,” the deputy defence minister said.

He was responding to claims that 1,079 military members and their spouses were already registered in the electoral roll for the Segamat parliamentary constituency despite the camp only due for completion in April 2018.

He also cited other border regiments, such as that in Sarawak, as an example where personnel were stationed there although the camps were incomplete.

“Now we have a few national service camps used as temporary camps for the personnel,” he said in response to Anthony Loke (DAP-Seremban).

On October 31, DAP found 1,051 voters registered at an uncompleted military camp in Segamat, Johor and 28 others at Regiment 501 Territorial Army Kem Segamat. – November 27, 2017. 

Sign up or sign in here to comment.

Comments

  • Tell the truth not bullshit story..what kind of work the army do in an empty land?

    Posted 6 years ago by Ali Along · Reply

  • Deputy Defence Minister Johari Baharum’s claim of the military having moved into the yet to be completed Segamat military base to justify the more than one thousand registered voters there (in 3rd Quarter) carry no credibility at all, for two reasons.
    First, if such an answer were truthful, wouldn’t it have been given instantly one month ago, when both the defence ministry and the EC were caught dumbfounded, embarrassed and speech-less over the break-out of the scandal?
    Second, Defence Minister Hishammuddin had then instantly expressed incredulity over the “crazy” notion of moving the army into a base that was still under construction and asked the Arm Forces Chief to explain the situation to stop this damaging news from spreading. Why wasn’t this done immediately?
    Now that Johari Baharum has made his claim in Parliament, he must now substantiate such claims by furnishing full details of this army movement into the uncompleted Segamat Base, including the numbers of personnel and their respective designations, the dates of movement and locations where they are housed, and finally, the rationale for such premature occupation of the base.
    If Johari fails to do that, a probe should be undertaken to ascertain possible contempt of Parliament and possible electoral frauds through planting phantom voters.

    Posted 6 years ago by Kim quek · Reply