KUALA LUMPUR – The army has denied a statement that has gone viral on social media claiming that army chief Gen Tan Sri Zamrose Mohd Zain has allowed caretaker defence minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein to conduct election campaigns in its camps.
The army, in a statement, said Zamrose’s statement had been manipulated by interested parties in an attempt to jeopardise his image.
“The Bernama article ‘Armed forces personnel not allowed to participate in GE15 campaign’, dated November 6, 2022, had been manipulated with the following statement: ‘However, I have allowed the former defence minister to campaign in any of the army camps where he is contesting.’
“This statement has been circulating on WhatsApp, and it is inappropriate because it is considered to be spreading fake news. The army views this issue seriously and would like to stress that the statement is false and considered as spreading malicious elements by the parties involved,” the army statement read.
It said the army chief, during a media conference at an event to confer awards to 472 armed forces ex-servicemen recently, had only reminded army personnel not to get directly involved in the general election (GE15) campaign.
“… this is because it is a violation of the rules set for armed forces personnel. In fact, (Zamrose) had further stated that each personnel has the right to vote for a candidate of their choice in GE15 to determine the future of the country,” the statement read.
“The army will not compromise with any party that tries to manipulate or provoke through the spread of false news that will affect the good name of the army in general and the good name of the army chief in particular,” it further said.
Therefore, the army calls on all parties to be careful in disseminating any news or information received and urges the public to first check their validity before sharing. – Bernama, November 9, 2022
