Embrace total defence concept
EDUCATION: Preventing a war is more important than waging one
THE military wants the nation to embrace the concept of total defence — pertahanan menyeluruh (HANRUH) — where everybody is involved in defending the nation. In advocating HANRUH, the military is not shirking its responsibility. On the contrary, it is the only national defence policy option that makes sense. The military cannot win any internal military conflict without the support of the rakyat. This was proven during the two “Emergencies” and the short-lived Indonesian inspired Konfrontasi.
Getting every citizen to defend the nation calls for a liberal education programme that emphasises patriotism and love for the country. This education goes beyond singing the national anthem and students reading the Rukun Negara every morning. It even goes beyond the National Service training programme.
The primary function of the military has always been traditionally the defence of the state from external threats like foreign invasions. States usually exaggerate the threats from their enemies or potential enemies in peacetime to get extra funding. Often, policy planners will use the combat potential of the enemy or unfriendly states to determine own capabilities. It is normal for states to prepare for the worstcase scenario in assessing the nature of external threats. But, such policies are not adequate to empower our people towards a comprehensive national defence.
The national education on defence requires nurturing from a very young age and must involve all age groups. Just as our nation can be destroyed by war, it can also be destroyed by political turmoil or economic or sociocultural policies, which destroy the will, desire, passion and love to defend the nation. No nation can win a war or preserve peace with policies that destroy the glue that holds our multiracial society together.
Poisoning the minds of the rakyat with negative racist policies can destroy the motivation for national unity, undermine the national capacity to expand economic productivity and stunt national growth.
A heavily indebted nation not only limits the capacity for national growth and productivity, but also undermines security. Only a wellthought-out programme in liberal education can truly forge a cohesive national identity, remove bigotry and curtail dangerous tribal tendencies in the name of pseudo-nationalism. We cannot rubbish such tendencies as standard election-year behaviour. While GE14 is likely to be the watershed of democracy, it will hopefully put an end to the insanity of race politics.
There is no place in our pluralistic society for our brand of madness politics and hatred that breeds ill will and hostility. Left unchecked, the politics of madness prevailing in the country can develop into a culture of national insecurity. Must the dream of embracing a vision to establish a united Malaysian nation and an economically just society, in which there is a fair and equitable distribution of the wealth of the nation, remain a lip service? Should the colour of our skin, ethnicity, faith and sectarian values continue to be used as weapons for regime survival?
It does not take a smart cookie to understand why we need to make education the first line of defence. Three reasons will suffice:
FIRSTLY, the nation does not have a large army to defend and preserve our core national interests: sovereignty and territorial integrity;
SECONDLY, if a war were to break up, everyone would be affected by it and innocent civilians would suffer most; and,
THIRDLY, the affordability issue: maintaining a large military is costly, but necessary for national prestige and deterrence.
bahamzah8@hotmail.com
The writer is a student of regional geopolitics and defence policy, and a commentator on maritime security