MEMBERS of the armed forces must not be cowed by fear when casting their votes in the next general election, and only take into consideration the honour of the country, said National Patriots Association president Mohamed Arshad Raji.

Arshad said despite being employed by the government, the armed forces’ duty was to uphold the honour and wellbeing of the nation.

“For those of our brothers and sisters who are still in active service in the armed forces and police, we implore you to exercise your vote without fear or favour.

“It is entirely up to you which individual or party out give your vote to (but) vote with pride and honour,” Arshad said at a press conference today.

Arshad said the country has been plagued by bad governance, religious and racial bigotry and other problems of late, and urged those in service to vote for a changed and better future.

“Peace and unity is our national treasure, we must not allow any politician to ruin it. We must choose our national leaders carefully.

“The continuation of bad governance as seen in the last few years will inevitably lead our country to ruins,” he said, without naming any particular party or politician.

Arshad said that when serving in the armed forces, many servicemen in his time did not vote.

“We Patriots would like to share an unpleasant secret. Reflecting on the past, when we were in active duty in the security forces, we didn’t bother to vote.

“Neither were we conscious of politics and political happenings then.

“The situation is different now. There has been a lot of encouragement among soldiers to go out to vote. There is awareness,” Arshad said.

He also urged all Malaysians to exercise their right to vote in the next general election.

“We are even more patriotic in exercising our votes now. We implore all Malaysians to vote. We do not believe in spoiling your vote or Undi Rosak,” Arshad added.

The 14th general election must be held by August. – February 14, 2018.