MOHICANS' CASE
Brave,
Loyal and Faithful
A Class Action Lawsuit.
Tort of misfeasance in public office, fraud and conspiracy of the prestigious Malayan Civil Service in 1972. MCS is now
known as Perkhidmatan Tadbir dan Diplomatik PTD or Administrative and Diplomatic Service.Their chiefs were the principal advisers
to the Prime Ministers and their Cabinets.They played the sinister role in this case.
Our causes of action are fraud, conspiracy and flagrant abuse of office by a committee known as TSAR or Tan Sri Sheikh
Abdullah Report of 1972 that was appointed by the Malaysian Cabinet of Tun Abdul Razak on 27th July 1971.
Whereas all other public servants had their salaries and conditions of service reviewed by independent Royal
Commissions of Inquiry, the Malaysian Armed Forces Officer Corps was reviewed by a cabal of Malayan Civil Service
(MCS) chieftains, their arch rival !
Further, the Chairman,Tan Sri Sheikh Abdullah bin Sheikh Abu Bakar
did not disclose his personal bias interest to the Prime Minister.
The Chairman and the other members of the Committee accepted their appointments with full knowledge that their appointments were
in clear, flagrant and blatant breach of the General Orders, 1969 for serious conflicts of interest i.e reviewing their
arch rival salaries scheme.
This was a clear act of discrimination and in violation of Article 8 (1) of the Federal Constitution.This is the root
cause of this case, the abuse of power by the Committee, instead of performing public duty they intentionally deceived
the Cabinet of Tun Razak to downgrade the Officer Corps and have concealed this fraud till today.
The Report was full of "bright shining lies" to deceive Tun Razak and his Cabinet to downgrade
the Officer Corps of the Malaysian Armed Forces from 1972 to 2004.The Officer Corps became inferior to the PTD by way of deception,
fraud, conspiracy and abuse of high office by the MCS-PTD chieftains.
Beside this lawsuit, only a high powered and truly independent Royal Commission of Inquiry
can only unravel and expose this allegation of abuse of high office, fraud and conspiracy.
This alleged act was not in furtherance of a public duty but a private abuse of public office and abuse of this
kind only happens once in a hundred years but if it is not punished it will happen one hundred times a year. This was
misfeasance at the highest level in which the entire Malaysian Cabinet was deceived including the Prime Ministers.
This is our main allegation in this highly complex tort of misfeasance in public office. This is the bedrock of our present
writ of summons and statement of claims filed at the High Court at Denmark House Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on 16th February 2001.
This class action lawsuit is claiming RM1.3 billion in punitive damages.
This tort of misfeasance in public office is against the Chief Secretary to the Government and Five Others. The
Chief of the Armed Forces Staff Committee (CAFSC) now known as Chief of Defence Force Committee was also sued for
tort of undue subordination, a new tort.
Still on appeal at the Court of Appeal, Putrajaya. We are still waiting for the notes of proceeding and
written grounds of decision from Justice Dato' Abdul Wahab Patail since 14th February 2003.
This is a new landmark case in Malaysia.This case will eventually be handled by a team of top class barristers
depending on the strength of the Mohicans Action Fund [ depending on how much money collected from the officers by 31st
December, 2004 ]
Who are the Mohicans?
The plaintiffs are 404 serving and retired officers of the Malaysian Armed Forces who are alleging that the top civil
servants or MCS had abuse their office in downgrading them to inferior status.They called themselves "Mohicans" which
literarily means noble and loyal warriors, after such classic representation by the author James Fenimore Cooper
in The Last of The Mohicans.
We are a group of serving and retired army, navy and air force officers of the Malaysian Armed Forces who were
victims of the draconian TSAR scheme of 1972 which downgraded the honour, prestige and dignity of our armed forces officer
corps. We were young officer cadets and midshipmen on 1st August 1972 when the TSAR draconian scheme was made effective.
On 1st August 1972 we were undergoing training at the following academies as Officer Cadets and Midshipmen:
Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst, United Kingdom
Indian Military Academy at Dehra Dunn
Pakistan Military Academy at Kakul
Officer Cadets School at Portsea, Australia
Britannia Royal Naval College at Dartmouth, United Kingdom
Royal Military College at Sungai Besi, Malaysia
Naval Cadet School at Woodland, Singapore.
Service Definition of Officer Cadets and Midshipmen
As Officer Cadets and Midshipmen we were defined and treated as serving officers under the Royal Malay Regiment
Enactment 1933 for army and air force cadets and Naval Discipline Act 1957 for the naval cadets and midshipmen.We were receiving
pay and allowances as serving officers.
TSAR's Malicious Definition
Came TSAR on 27th July 1971 and introduced an apartheid system of pay and allowances. TSAR considered Officer Cadets
and Midshipmen as neither Officers nor Other Ranks and neither military nor civilians and had therefore deprived our
privileges as Officers. We were considered as nonentities and were downgraded to second division officers when we were commissioned
as Second Lieutenant, Pilot Officer and Sub-Lieutenant of the three services after 1st August 1972.
Apartheid Salary Scheme
Instead of giving us and improving the pre - TSAR monthly salaries scheme of $712.00, $757.00, $935.00 and $1130.00
as Second Lieutenent, Lieutenant, Captain and Major respectively our salaries under TSAR were downgraded to $500.00,
$600.00, $700.00 and $950.00 for the respective ranks. A drastic slashed up to 30% for 23 years of service. A total and complete
humiliation to 95% of the Officer Corps, almost the entire workhorse.It was a real disgrace to the entire Officer Corps
except for very senior officers who had betrayed their own officers.
Status Quo Scale
When TSAR was implemented on 1st August 1972 there were over 90% of the officers were in the ranks of Second Lieutenant
up to Major and they were put on a status quo scale or Personal-to-Holder (PTH) receiving a montly salaries
of $720.00, $760.00, $950.00 and $1150.00 as Second Lieutenant, Lieutenant, Captain and Major respectively. This was to prevent
them from drawing lower salaries than they were earning before TSAR was implemented.
Specific Exclusion
Specifically excluded were 404 Officer Cadets and Midshipmen who were under training on that date.They were serving officers
but were excluded from receiving the same status quo salaries scale though they joined the service under the same terms and
conditions.
The issue is why these 404 officers were not given the status quo salaries scale whereas they were already serving officers
in the ranks of Officer Cadets and Midshipmen?
In the first place, why was there a need to drastically cut the Officers' salaries at all? This was not mandated under
the terms of reference of TSAR. The answer is fraud and conspiracy, pure and simple.
Before 1st August 1972, our status, esteem and privileges as a Second Lieutenant were at par with an Assistant
District Officer or ADO (PTD), a Magistret/DPP (Judicial & Legal Service) and an Honours Graduate Teacher (Teaching
Service) but under TSAR after 1st August 1972 our status, esteem and privileges were downgraded to
a few steps above clerical grade! Is this not a sinister design? Is this not a treasonable and evil act to demoralise
the Officer Corps?
The Status Quo Salaries Scales or principle of Personal-to-Holder was abused and misused and became the instrument to
downgrade the Officer Corps en block whereas in other sectors of public service the principle was used selectively
for certain pockets of appointments deemed deadwood or unjustly remunerated.
Real Objective of TSAR
To downgrade the status and esteem of the Malaysian Armed Forces specifcally the Officer Corps to an inferior grade much
lower than the MCS/PTD.
Future Malaysian Armed Forces Officers in the same ranks after 1st August 1972 were downgraded to inferior scale and
status. They were those who joined as Officer Cadets after 1st August 1972 and commissioned after that date. By this way the
entire Officer Corps was downgraded and able only to attract inferior grade personnel to join.
This was the most brutal cut of all, not just "the unkindness cut of all."
This draconian scheme benefited Colonels and Generals of that time and they made up only 5% of the Officer
Corps whereas the other 95% from Officer Cadets up to Majors were downgraded brutally by the conspiracy of
very top MCS or now called PTD officers.
It was really a tragedy of the first order that the services chiefs accepted the Report which ought to be thrown
to the dustbin at the first sight. This is a Malaysian version of " Lions led by donkeys "
This will be our trial matters in due course.
Are we lions?
In 1972 we cursed,condemned and hurled abusive words to our senior officers for accepting the Report and now 2004 are
we not showing the same cowardice traits? Whether out of sheer ignorance, pure cowardice or plainly deft, dumb and blind if
we opt not to fight on we are no better than them.Then we are doing injustice to the words "Mohicans" and "Lions" in truth
we are mere "Chickens". Is it wrong then to label ourselves as "Chickens led by Donkeys" ? You decide
before 31st December 2004.
We are seeking a declaration from the court that Tan Sri Sheikh Abdullah Report or TSAR was and is a fraudulent
document and is null and void.
Before filing this lawsuit, we have exhausted all available means through proper chains of command and other
civil administrative channels to solve our case since 1972 but all ended in vain.
The issue was brought up into our judicial system by our private effort in filing this class action lawsuit
representing 404 of us on 16th February 2001.
This lawsuit was struck out by the High Court Justice Dato' Abdul Wahab Patail and now is pending appeal at the Court
of Appeal at Putrajaya. It was struck out solely on the ground that the causes of action were time barred under the Public
Authorities Protection Act, 1948 S 2 (a) or popularly known as PAPA.
Public Authorities Protection Act, 1948 S 2(a) reads:
2. Where, after the coming into force of this ordinance, any suit, action, prosecution or other proceeding is commenced
in the Federation against any person for any act done in pursuance or execution or intended execution of any written law or
of public duty or authority or in respect of any alleged neglect or default in the execution of any such written law, duty
or authority the following provisions shall have effect
(a) the suit, action, prosecution or proceeding shall not lie or be instituted unless it is commenced within thirty six months
next after the act, neglect of default complained of or, in the case of a continuance of injury or damage, within thirty six months
next after the ceasing thereof;
The English's PAPA and our PAPA's mother, the Public Authorities Protection Act, 1893 was abolished
in 1954 as outdated and abusive.
Our action is based on misfeasance in public office, fraud and conspiracy of the very top civil servants of
Tun Razak's era of 1972.
We therefore strongly believe that PAPA has no application in this case because abuse of office, fraud and conspiracy
are not acts in pursuance of any authority, written law or lawful execution of order. Furthermore, the very act was unconstitutional
and illegal.
We believe that only acts that are bona fide and in good faith for public purposes are protected otherwise it would be
excluded and statutory time bar has no effect. Will PAPA protects act that deliberately deceived the Malaysian Cabinet
and intentionally injured us?
This will be the main thrust of our appeal arguments before three or five Appeal Court judges
soon.
We are seeking to classify our case as a Public Interest Case and to seek for a speedy date of hearing
of our appeal and the subsequent full trial.The main theme of the coming trial is dishonesty and abuse of public
office of the very top civil servants of the Perkhidmatan Tadbir dan Diplomatik or in short PTD of the era
of Tun Abdul Razak, Tun Hussein Onn and concealed up to Tun Dr. Mahathir's time.
The present Defence Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Abdul Razak should set up a high
powered internal inquiry team to investigate this issue intellectually, honestly and objectively in the
interest of the Malaysian Armed Forces and the public generally.
Collective ignorance and denial of the real scandal cannot solve this perpetual issue, time will not cure this
disease. Act now to avoid irreversible damage to the honour, morale and dignity of the Officer Corps.The findings
could be the basis for the establishment of a Royal Commission of Inquiry to investigate this scandal.
This is a very serious allegation affecting the integrity, competency and reputation of the three previous Prime
Ministers and their Cabinets and in fact it is a national scandal.
The present Malaysian government under the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi should set up a Royal
Commission of Inquiry on the Malaysian Armed Forces to settle this national scandal without further delay.Justice
delayed is justice denied.
