Good sons don't become soldiers

Here's what Mr Islamic State, Najib Razak had to say about the low participant rate of Chinese in the country's military:

There are now more Indians than Chinese serving in the armed forces, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said. He added that the armed forces had received more applications from the Indians than the Chinese.

Earlier, in the Dewan Negara, Najib said the Chinese community themselves have to change their mindset so that more of them will join the armed forces.

"The Chinese go by the adage that a good son doesn't become a soldier."

The Chinese and the Indian participants could join the technical sector of the armed forces such as the engineering, transport or the medical corps, he told reporters at the Parliament lobby on Monday. - TheStar

Let me give the Army (and Police) recruiters a tip. Apart from the Armed forces being unable to cater for the perpetual Chinese obsession of 'better pay and good promotions', it is my sincere belief that there is one other major obstacle for Chinese youths contemplating careers in the security forces.

EYESIGHT.

If anyone bothered to do a study connecting the incidence of Chinese men who require prescription spectacles and the participation rate of Chinese in army and police recruitment, I'm sure you will find a strong correlation.

I mean, many (if not most) Chinese families have whole generations wearing glasses. During my school days, we had the entire Chinese populations of classrooms (the boffin Science 1 class) wearing them. None of them can ever consider a career in the security forces simply because they will never pass the 9:6 unassisted vision requirement. And yes, Najib, you're right. Technical jobs like engineers and medics would appeal to Chinese youth. But have you seen how many Chinese in these fields are four eyed?

If the army and police ie. govt are truly sincere in recruiting the Chinese, they need to remove or loosen the eyesight requirements so that bespectacled Malaysians are not pre-disqualified before they can even fill up the application form. If not for jobs like pilots or frogmen, at least for the technical and strategic jobs - where there is no reason whatsoever for near perfect uncorrected vision.

Another consideration would be to modify the basic training to reflect the less agressive roles for non-combat positions.