By NNN-Bernama
Kuantan : The second Malaysian Contingent (Malcon II) comprising 358 men would leave for Lebanon to participate in the peacekeeping mission under the auspices of the United Nations (UN) beginning Oct 22.
The contingent will replace the Malcon I, which consisted of 360 Malaysian troops who had successfully carried out their peacekeeping mission in the country.
Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak said the deployment of Malcon II a week after the Eid celebrations to take over from the first group had proven the Malaysian Armed Forces’ (ATM) credibility and capability to the extent that it had gained the trust of the world body.
“The UN’s trust was based on the track record of our armed forces which are among the best in the world in terms of carrying out peace missions,” he said.
The deployment of the troops would be made in stages where the first group comprising 80 troops, including 10 women, would depart on Oct 22.
Najib said the ATM’s capability in maintaining peace in this country had convinced the world body that the troops were capable of carrying out the peacekeeping mission excellently.
“We are in a position to export peace at the international level because we have succeeded in maintaining peace in this country with the expertise and capability of the ATM in tackling various security matters,” he said.
He said if the people were not happy with the armed forces, peace would not be achieved even if the ATM had sophisticated and modern weaponry.
“Based on history and the experiences in Vietnam and Iraq, the major powers such as the United States, despite their sophisticated weaponry, were still not able to maintain peace in these countries,” Najib said.