Malaysian armed forces as an institution of nation building: past achievements and future potential

Abstract

One of the main roles of the military identified by the British when they decided to grant Malaya its independence was to be an instrument of nation building, bringing its various ethnic groups together under a single banner with a commonly shared sense of belonging and destiny. It was believed then that the rigours and discipline of military training would be able to mould young Malayan of various races who mostly had not had any experience interacting let alone live, train and work with each other into one single race that would understand, tolerate, respect and celebrate the diversity of their religions, langufges and cultures. Changes in the country's political, eco_nomic and social environment however led to the gradual erosion of the role played by the military in this area. The introduction of national service program with the objective of fostering the spirit of nationalism and solidarity among the races through military style training acknowledges the importance of military training as an effective instrument in achieving this important national objective. With this in mind, it is now perhaps appropriate to consider restoring the armed forces of this role as part of the nation's human resource development blueprint for the 21st Century.