PETALING JAYA: The military ranks are given purely as an honour but the hostility they have triggered is very much real. The Defence Ministry’s award of honorary ranks to the Selangor Mentri Besar and Melaka Chief Minister has drawn backlash from various parties including the Opposition and military veterans.

Amirudin Shari was made an honorary Brigadier-General in the army for his role as the patron of the Selangor Territorial Army Support Committee (Jakpaw), while Adly Zahari was conferred the same rank in his capacity as patron of Jakpaw Melaka.

This decision to give the state leaders the honorary ranks surprised many people because on April 19, Defence Minister Mohamad Sabu said his ministry had stopped awarding honorary titles to politicians and celebrities, who would also not be allowed to don military uniforms.

“Only those who have undergone military training, such as in the Territorial Army, can wear uniforms,” said Mohamad according to a Bernama report.

He added that the previous practice was hal­ted to “honour the services and sacrifices of soldiers who have put in a lot of hard work and to prevent the devaluing of the ranks”.

MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong was the first to call out Mohamad on this about-turn, saying the minister has failed to keep his word.

“Amirudin is not just an ordinary leader. He is the Selangor Pakatan Harapan state chief,” said Dr Wee in a Facebook post on Tuesday. “Adly is a Melaka Parti Amanah Negara state leader, and Mohamad Sabu is the president of Amanah.”

National Patriots Association (Patriot) committee member Lt-Col (Rtd) Ahmad Ghazali Abu Hassan said the decision to award honorary ranks destroys the principle of separation of power between the military and politicians.

In the past, such ranks were not linked to politicians. “We had people from all walks of life from professors to corporate figures joining (Territorial Army) as volunteers and going through their paces to rise through the ranks.

“The volunteers would go through a proper training regime and earned their ranks on merit,” he said, stressing that such appointments should be apolitical.

“The previous government started the practice of the Mentri Besar being the patron of his state’s territorial army.

“I had hoped that Pakatan Harapan would do away with such practices,” he said.

Patriot also pointed out that Adly should have done more to reciprocate the honour of holding the rank.

“In this instance, the Melaka Chief Minister was sporting a beard, a clear violation of military dress regulation. In the military, only navy personnel and officers are permitted to have beard,” said Ahmad Ghazali.

He cited Rembau MP Khairy Jamaluddin as a good example of someone who went through proper training and had proven himself before being appointed as commander of the 508 Regiment of the Territorial Army. Khairy has since resigned from the post.

When contacted for comments on the backlash, Mohamad asked The Star to refer to the ministry’s statement yesterday.

In the statement, the ministry explained that the two state leaders were made honorary army brigadier-generals because they are Jakpaw patrons in Selangor and Melaka.

Amirudin was bestowed the honorary rank by Mohamad in a ceremony which was also attended by ministry secretary-general Datuk Seri Mohd Zuki Ali and Army Chief Jen Datuk Seri Ahmad Hasbullah Nawawi.

The appointments of Amirudin and Adly as Jakpaw patrons were approved by the Armed Forces Council on May 24.

The Jakpaw is a committee established at every state to encourage people to join the Territorial Army. The patrons are the Mentri Besar or Chief Minister and they were appointed with the approval of the Armed Forces Council.

The Jakpaw chairmanship is allocated to the respective state secretary, who is appointed either by the Mentri Besar, Chief Minister or Federal Territories Minister. The committee chairman is awarded the rank of honorary colonel.

All honorary ranks are subject to the approval of the Armed Forces Council and consent of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong under Section 198 of the Armed Forces Act 1972.

According to the Defence Ministry, an honorary rank can be withdrawn if a person no longer holds office or if he commits an offence that tarnishes the name of the armed forces.