Body tattoo is no hindrance for any individual to join the Malaysian Armed Forces (MAF).
Deputy Defence Minister Dr Abdul Latiff Ahmad told the Dewan Rakyat today that the MAF instead placed more importance on other criteria stipulated, such as passing the medical and physical tests, while for officers, they must
have planning and leadership capabilities.
“Those wishing to join the MAF must also pass the IQ (intelligence quotient) and EQ (emotional quotient) tests.
“We have never made body tattoo an obstacle for anyone wanting to join the MAF.
Even if they have a lot of tattoos, they will be accepted into the MAF if they pass all the qualification tests,” he said in reply to a supplementary question from Ahmad Lai Bujang (BN-Sibuti).
Ahmad Lai had asked whether tattoos were a hindrance for anyone keen to join the MAF and whether those who went through the National Service Training Programme (NSTP) would be given preference to join the uniformed body.
On the NSTP, Abdul Latiff said the trainees would be given preference if they were interested to join the MAF, Royal Malaysian Police or the Civil Defence Department.
Earlier, to the original question, Abdul Latiff said the MAF had no problem in getting Sarawakians to serve in the MAF.
In fact, he said, for the 2009-2011 period, 661 (8.8 per cent) of the total 7,510 recruits were from Sarawak.
Ahmad Lai had asked for the total number of recruits in the country, including from Sarawak, and why the ministry did not use the new media like YouTube, Facebook and Twitter to advertise for recruits.
Abdul Latiff said at the moment, the ministry was still using the mainstream media for this purpose, but had noted and would consider using the new media as suggested by the member of parliament.
– Bernama
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