SIBU: Sarawak Veteran Armed Forces of Malaysia Association (PVTMS) aims to achieve a record of sorts by targeting a membership of 2,000 this year.
Its president, Thomas Ling, believed that the feat was not beyond reach if each of their 650 members could bring in five new members.
“I recall last year we had just 142 members and three months down the road, we increased our membership to 650.
“This means that each month, we had managed to rope in 170 members. The strength of the association depends on its members,” Ling said in his opening remark at the association’s pre-Gawai celebration at a leading hotel here last Sunday.
He added: “And this year, we target to increase our membership to between 1,500 and 2,000 people.”
In this regard, he urged the members to talk to other ex servicemen on the benefits of joining the association.
“Go to the ground and identify former servicemen and bring them to our association so that their welfare and wellbeing can be better taken care of,” he said.
On the coming 13th General Election (GE), he called on members to rally behind the government so that their objectives and aspirations could be better fulfilled.
On the function, Ling said they had received an overwhelming response as the tables had increased from 30 previously to 35 this celebration.
Assistant Tourism Minister Datuk Talib Zulpilip, speaking as the guest of honour at the function, urged veterans to continue serving the society despite having retired from active duty.
He said veterans could still perform simple tasks to brighten the days of their neighbours.