Inveterate publicity hound, Defence Minister and relative of arch thief Najib Razak, Hishamuddin has made another public announcement. After telling Malaysians that the Armed Forces were “ready to roll on Jerusalem” he now informs a breathless public that RM 48 million plus was spent on the medical needs of service personnel this year.

While it is good to know that our servicemen and women are getting the medical help they need there must be a question as to why spending on this scale was necessary. Service personnel are young, required to be physically fit and should normally enjoy good health without medical care being needed. Further details would, perhaps, allay any public thoughts about wastage of public funds.

In his statement Hish also referred to treatment of a large number of non-military personnel under the “Jiwa Murni” scheme, adding that this activity had reached 3,600 villages. Does the Health Ministry have anything to say about why military health activity should be needed on such a large scale? Public money is precious and ALL waste is to be avoided by intelligent management of resources. Explanations please, Hish.