Patriot: Malay Regiment cannot be disbanded

PETALING JAYA: It is “virtually impossible” for any party to disband the Royal Malay Regiment (RMR) due to constitutional safeguards that are in place, said the National Patriots Association (Patriot).

Its president Brig-Gen (Rtd) Datuk Mohamad Arshad Raji ( pix) said he and other retired RMR officers were left “puzzled, confused and apprehensive” over remarks allegedly made by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak about the oldest unit of the army’s infantry regiments.

Najib had on Friday said at a dinner for the armed forces and police that a “Malaysian Malaysia” might spell the end of the Royal Malay Regiment if the wrong leadership takes control of the country.

(The concept of “Malaysian Malaysia” is a slogan mooted by DAP in the last general election.)

“One has to understand the history of the establishment of the Malay Regiment to realise that it is virtually impossible to ‘spell the end’ or to declare it redundant.

“I say this with a very clear conscience, that no government or any succeeding Malaysian government would want to make such a declaration, not only for historical reasons, but more importantly the special attachment the Royal Malay Regiment has with the Malay Rulers,” Mohamad Arshad said in a statement yesterday.

The Royal Malay Regiment, established in 1933 by the British Colonial Office, is the oldest and topmost infantry regiment in the army, with its 1st battalion acting as a ceremonial guard for the Yang diPertuan Agong.

Arshad said Najib’s remarks were also clearly targeted at opposition parties and would not augur well for overall national unity.

Meanwhile in GEORGE TOWN, Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said he is willing to not contest in the coming general election if Najib can prove that DAP wants to dissolve the Royal Malay Regiment.