'Complete intelligence failure in Lahad Datu'
There was a "total and complete failure of intelligence" in detecting the incursion by the self-styled ‘Royal Sulu Army’ into Lahad Datu, Sabah, because the military's intelligence apparatus has lost its teeth.
There was a "total and complete failure of intelligence" in detecting the incursion by the self-styled ‘Royal Sulu Army’ into Lahad Datu, Sabah, because the military's intelligence apparatus has lost its teeth.
Retired army deputy chief Lt-Gen (Rtd) Abdul Ghafir Abdul Hamid in alleging this today said this happened because the military intelligence arm has been used for political purposes.
"Since 2000, the (the expertise of the) Defence Staff Intelligence Division in gathering external foreign intelligence has been used for political operations,” Ghafir told a press conference in Petaling Jaya today.
"They have lost their expertise and assets to gain intelligence on threats.
“When our intelligence failed, they (the intruders) easily breached our maritime border."
Inappropriate 'armed intruders' label
Coupled with the intelligence failure, is the government's slip-shod management of information, he said.
It was not appropriate to label the gunmen as "armed intruders", Ghafir added.
This is because, with that label, the government's hands were tied by international conventions - it can only deploy a police response, because an 'intrusion'' is considered less serious.
Ghafir ( left ) believes that the correct term for the Sulu gunmen should be "armed agressors".
This would have freed Malaysia to do what it needed to safeguard its sovereign territory, including the deployment of the military.
"These are armed aggressors who want to take our land and harm our citizens,” he said.
Ghafir also accused the government of failure to decisively handle the conflict at its initial stage.
Allowing the intruders to stay for 23 days unscathed, he said, allowed them to reinforce their numbers and build entrenched defences.
"This made our job harder," he claimed.
In January, Ghafir had said that the equipment and facilities in armed forces camps were not up to standard , given the significant sums allocated in the national budget for the defence portfolio.
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