Zaidi Ahmad, seen here with his daughters outside the military court on January 12, returns to civilian life after 26 years in the Royal Malaysian Air Force. – The Malaysian Insider pic, February 2, 2015.After 26 years in the military, Zaidi Ahmad, who exposed problems with the indelible ink used in the May 2013 general election, was today officially dismissed from his duties as a major with the Royal Malaysian Air Force.
The confirmation of his dismissal was read out to him at 10am in front of the Butterworth air force base command, and The Malaysian Insider sighted a copy of the dismissal letter signed by Air Force chief Datuk Seri Roslan Saad dated January 27.
“I am finally dismissed from the force. It is time for me now to embark in a new journey as a civilian,” Zaidi later said.
His discharge follows the sentence handed down by the military court which tried him on two charges of breaking protocol when he revealed problems with the indelible ink used in the general election, later causing the integrity of the polls to be questioned.
Zaidi said he felt sad leaving the career he had built for nearly 30 years, but said the sadness was over the system and not the fact that he was leaving.
“I am taking this all in. Accepting what has happened. I am not sad about leaving my career but more about the system that we have here,” he said.
He hoped that he would still receive his pension without any revisions.
“The process of being a civilian has started. I am going to change my identification card and fill up several forms to finalise everything. I have cleared my office and will be taking some of my stuff from the airbase in stages. All will be cleared soon,” said Zaidi.
His plans for the near future include giving talks around the country.
“Any talk as long as its allowed within the law. So, whoever wants to book me for talks they can do so now,” Zaidi said in jest.
He said he wanted to spread awareness about his experience with the public.
“I believe that I am on the right path, hence I am not worried about what comes next,” he said.
Zaidi is also toying with the idea of writing a book on defence that will cover his experience as a whistleblower and the challenges he faced after exposing the unreliability of the indelible ink.
On February 5, he will make a court appearance at the Kuala Lumpur High Court for a judicial review application filed earlier challenging the military's convening authority which had refused to dissolve the panel that tried him.
Zaidi and his lawyers had wanted the panel dissolved for alleged biased by the presiding officer.
After Zaidi's sacking from the air force by the panel, another whistle-blower was also punished. Flight Sergeant Jamal Ibrahim, who lodged a police report along with Zaidi over the washable indelible ink, was demoted for breaching armed forces protocol.
The demotion order was issued last month to Jamal who worked as a technician at the Butterworth air force base in Penang.
Jamal was charged for breaching the standing order by talking to the media.
Jamal, who is in his 40s, has served in the armed forces for about 20 years and is expected to retire next year.
- TMI
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