Army says viral content on election campaigns in camps is fake

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 9 (Bernama) -- The Malaysian Army (TDM) has denied a statement that has gone viral on social media claiming that the Army chief General Tan Sri Zamrose Mohd Zain has allowed Senior Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein to conduct election campaigns in Army camps. 

TDM, 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 Nov 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. TDM 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 TDM statement read. 

It said the Army Chief, during the 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 15th 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 a candidate of their choice in GE15 to determine the future of the country,” the statement read.  

“TDM will not compromise with any party that tries to manipulate or try to provoke through the spread of false news that will affect the good name of TDM in general and the good name of the Army Chief in particular,” it said further. 

Therefore, TDM calls on all parties to be careful in disseminating any news or information received and urged the public to first check its validity before sharing them. 

-- BERNAMA