KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 12 ― The Armed Forces and its officer corps must be non-partisan or risk compromising combat effectiveness, deputy Defence Minister Liew Chin Tong said today.

Liew said the officer corps is an important military institution for guiding legitimate democratic governments and ensuring that they make balanced decisions.

"Professional officers are competent and efficient at military management.

"They also have a deep-rooted philosophical understanding of the atrocities of war and the need for caution in its execution,” he said

Liew cited Armed Forces chief General Tan Sri Zulkifli Zainal Abidin who once said that the military must be non-partisan as its officer corps bore the responsibility of leading the military in conflict.

"Professional officers set the standards for the enlisted men to follow. If they are compromised by partisan interests, they risk compromising combat effectiveness.

"History has shown repeatedly that such dynamics are not conducive to both stable and legitimate governance as well as effective military planning and execution,” he said.

He pointed out that true professional officers knew the paradox of being well-trained and experienced in the precise applications of violence, but also understood the need to avoid its uncontrolled use.

"They understand and must do all they can to guide their civilian governments from total calamity.

"They must deter their governments from making rash, aggressive decisions by making their civilian counterparts, such as myself, understand the weight of such decisions,” he said.

Liew said consequentially, a non-partisan and thus well-trained officer corps knows better than anyone else the costs of war.

"As Herbert Hoover (former US president) once said, old men declare war, but it is the youth that must fight and die.

"We must not unnecessarily invent wars for our people to fight,” he said.