File photo of the Malaysian Armed Forces take part in the 60th National Day parade at Dataran Merdeka in Kuala Lumpur on August 31, 2017. ― Picture by Miera Zulyana

PORT DICKSON, Feb 23 — Army chief General Datuk Seri Ahmad Hasbullah Mohd Nawawi will abide if the government plans to reduce the number of civil servants in the Army.

He said with technology and ensuring that every member of the staff equip themselves with various skills, reducing the number of civil servants would not present a problem to the army.

“The army staff themselves must be multi-skilled. The reduced number could be offset through the use of technology. So if a certain area requires 10 staff, we could reduce to five or six, but fill the gap by using technology,” he said.

Ahmad Hasbullah was speaking at a press conference held after the Passing-Out Parade of Young Male Officers Series 187/18 at the Army Basic Training Centre here today.

Also present were Army West Field Commander Gen Datuk Azizan Md Delin, and Army Training Commander Gen Datuk Wira Md Tajri Alwi.

Commenting on the yearly army intake quota, Ahmad Hasbullah said there was no limit to it

“We need more army intake because we have two regions which must be protected. So the quota is never enough,” he said.

Prime Minister Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad had recently said that the size of the civil service was too big and should be reduced.

He said at present there were 1.7 million civil servants, an increase of 700,000 since he was the fourth Prime Minister. — Bernama