SUBANG JAYA, 6 Jan: The Ministry of Home Affairs (MOHA) has been urged to approve the application of a co-operation, where members are all former soldiers, which wishes to establish a security company.

The Subang Jaya Assemblywoman, Hannah Yeoh, said that although the co-operation consists of non-Malays in majority, however their experience of servicing as members of national security cannot be taken lightly.

She said that the MOHA can use discretion to allow the co-operation to establish a security company especially since crime is on the rise.

“This co-operation guarantees to only hire Malaysians and former members of the army as security officers

“They have also proven their faithfulness, capability and expertise in safeguarding national security when they were serving in the army. So why are they not allowed to care for security anymore today?

“This is not a political or racial issue, but it is about national security which is becoming more worrisome every day,” she said in a press conference which was also attended by the Member of Parliament for Kelana Jaya, Wong Chen; the Kelana Jaya PAS President, Ir Izham Hashim, as well as the Koperasi Pesara India Angkatan Tentera Malaysia Bhd representative in her office today.

Meanwhile, Wong Chen urged the MOHA to take the right action to avoid crime involving security personnel from happening again.

“For example, the incident of the officer in Ambank who died after being shot dead by an Indonesian security officer who used a fake identification card, and until now, we do not know the status of the company.

“It is time we allow those who are actually qualified to take care of security, instead of foreign nationals who are cheaply paid,” he said.

The Co-operation Chairman, MK Subramaniam, said that they began applying to establish a security company three years ago, however, was unsuccessful because they did not achieve the 70 percent share ownership by Bumiputeras.

“But the MOHA should see us as a cooperation that is not oriented merely on profit, but we are committed to public safety.

“We are also former soldiers and we are trained in using firearms, which is an important trait in becoming security personnel,” he said.

The Koperasi Pesara India Angkatan Tentera Malaysia Berhad was first established in 2009 and as of now, they have over 1,000 registered members.