I was ordered to delete video of Major Zaidi’s statement, says RMAF man
(The Star) – The court-martial of Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) Major Zaidi Ahmad, who had made media statements regarding the ineffectiveness of the indelible ink used during GE13, heard Wednesday that Air Force personnel were ordered to delete videos of his press conference on the issue.
The first of the two to take the stand, RMAF Sergeant Mohd Khairul Nizam Ishak from the Physical Safety and Crime Prevention Division, testified that his superior officer, Lt Col Mohammad Rosli Yaakob, ordered him to delete the video he recorded of Zaidi’s May 1, 2013 press conference with his mobile phone.
“I was ordered to delete it so the recording would not spread,” said Mohd Khairul in response to questions during examination-in-chief by prosecution counsel Major Ahmad Sanusi Ali.
Mohd Khairul added he was ordered to delete the recording after transferring copies of it to the RMAF Butterworth base commander Brig Gen Datuk Mohd Shabre Hussein and to the laptop of another officer, Major Sharul Naim on May 1.
Asked by Ahmad Sanusi what Zaidi said at the press conference which was allegedly held near the surau of the Kepala Batas police station, Mohd Khairul said Zaidi told reporters that “soldiers are trained to speak the truth” and that he had held his finger up to show the faded ink.
During cross-examination by defence counsel Mohamed Hanipa Maidin, Mohd Khairul agreed that the video he recorded on his phone would have been primary evidence, and the act of deleting the recording was deleting original evidence.
However, he disagreed when asked if deleting it was an offence, adding that he had been ordered to do so by a superior officer.
To further questions from Mohamed Hanipa, Mohd Khairul agreed that he would be angry if the indelible ink used in GE13 had turned out to not be so.
He also agreed with Mohamed Hanipa that an individual had a right to make a police report over the indelible ink, and what Zaidi did in lodging the police report was correct.
The second witness to take the stand, Leading Aircraftman Mohd Zuraidy Muchtar also testified he was ordered to delete the recording he made, but said that the order came from a Major Nor Azan.
In his testimony, Mohd Zuraidy, a detective with the Physical Safety and Crime Prevention Division added that he attended the press conference given by Zaidi at a tent near the surau in the compound of the Kepala Batas police station, masquerading as a journalist.
“I went into the tent posing as a reporter, following behind Major Zaidi. He introduced himself to the reporters. I sat among them and I heard him explain why he made the report.
“Then he showed the finger which had been inked to show it was not indelible,” said Mohd Zuraidy.
Major Zaidi faces two charges over a media statement he made stating his dissatisfaction with the indelible ink used in last year’s general election and for making a statement without the approval of the Defence Ministry.
The offences were allegedly committed at the compound of the Kepala Batas police station on May 1 last year.
The third charge is for broadcasting official information via an “attachment out” signal to the media without the approval of the Armed Forces Council.
The fourth and fifth charges claimed that he made media statements on the same matter via the Armed Forces channel and without the Defence Ministry’s consent respectively.
Major Zaidi is said to have committed the last three offences at Taman Bertam Indah, Kepala Batas, on May 3 last year, thus breaching the Armed Forces Council Order, Discipline and Security – Communication of Information and Publication of Articles by Members of the Armed Forces paras 3, 5 and 13.
