DECISION LEADS TO DISSENT, DISCORD
The Rudd Government should reject the findngs of the Long Tan review committee.
I wonder how long it will be before some jobsworth in the Ceremonial Departments of FCO, MoD Ds Sec or the Cabinet Office
will conflate, quite wrongly, the PJM with the view by some Australian jobsworths in criticising the review committee's decision to award their own medals and hand the British awards back on the grounds that this will
set a precedent (familiar words?). Let me tell those British jobsworth, that there is no comparison with the PJM (Malaysian Service Medal) and gallantry awards, although some smart a*se might try it on as they have done with campaign medals.
After 3 years of obfuscation, misinterpretation and lying by omission, we have now discovered that the Queen's signature or
initials do not appear on any document which refers to 'not formally wearing the PJM', but was contained in an unreferenced
'inter-departmental note to Jack Straw (rather than, as one would expect from the Palace, a formal letter) although the FCO gave it a reference number - 193117/05. Rather than finding more reasons to preclude the PJM from being worn, they would be better employed covering their own backs or clearing their desks for an early retirement, a good pension and the prospect of a gong, simply for doing their job, if that is, three years of nonesense can be described as doing one's job.
