Malaysian military ranks

The following tables present the ranks of the Malaysian Armed Forces . ^[1]

Rank list

SSPA Grade	SSMEquiv. (former)	Type	Army	Navy	Air Force	NATO equivalents of ranks
Usually reserved for His Majesty the Yang di-Pertuan Agong		Commander-in-chief [note 1]	Field Marshal	Admiral of the Fleet	Marshal of the Air Force	OF-10
VUZA3 [note 2]	Turus II	Commissioned officers	General	Admiral	General	OF-9
VUZA5 [note 3]	JUSA A
VUZA6	JUSA B		Lieutenant General [note 4]	Vice Admiral [note 5]	Lieutenant General [note 6]	OF-8
VUZA7	JUSA C		Major General	Rear Admiral	Major General RMAF	OF-7
ZA26	54		Brigadier General	Commodore (lit. First Admiral) [2]	Brigadier General RMAF	OF-6
ZA24	52		Colonel	Captain	Colonel RMAF	OF-5
ZA22	48		Lieutenant Colonel	Commander	Lieutenant Colonel RMAF	OF-4
ZA20	46A		Major	Lieutenant Commander	Major RMAF	OF-3
ZA18	44		Captain	Lieutenant	Captain RMAF	OF-2
ZA16	42		Lieutenant	Sub Lieutenant	Lieutenant RMAF	OF-1
ZA15	41		Second Lieutenant	Acting Sub Lieutenant	Second Lieutenant RMAF
ZAL13/ZAL15			Officer Cadet	Midshipman	Officer Cadet	OF(D)
				Officer Cadet
ZA12	38	Other ranks	Warrant Officer I	Warrant Officer I	Warrant Officer I	OR-9
ZA10	36		Warrant Officer II	Warrant Officer II	Warrant Officer II	OR-8
ZA8	32		Staff Sergeant [note 7]	Chief Petty Officer	Flight Sergeant	OR-7
ZA6	29		Sergeant	Petty Officer	Sergeant	OR-6
ZA4	22		Corporal	Leading Seaman	Corporal	OR-4
ZA2	20		Lance Corporal	Able Seaman	Leading Aircraftman	OR-3
ZA1	19		Private [note 8]	Ordinary Seaman	Aircraftman	OR-1
ZAL1			Recruit	Recruit	Recruit

Rank table

This table shows the rank structure and epaulette insignia from 1963 until today. For the ranks in the Malaysian Army, the shoulder board rank insignia for Senior Officers and Junior Officers comprises the star from the Order of the Crown of the Realm.

Commissioned officer ranks

The rank insignia of commissioned officers, based on the No. 2 and No. 3 Dress Uniform. For the insignia of the RMAF, the "KEHORMAT" was written for honorary officers.

Rank group	General / flag officers										Senior officers						Junior officers
Malaysian Army [3] v t e
	Fil marsyal		Jeneral		Leftenan jeneral		Mejar jeneral		Brigedier jeneral		Kolonel		Leftenan kolonel		Mejar		Kapten		Leftenan			Leftenan muda
Royal Malaysian Navy [3] v t e
	Laksamana armada		Laksamana		Laksamana madya		Laksamana muda		Laksamana pertama		Kepten		Komander		Leftenan komander		Leftenan		Leftenan madya			Leftenan muda
Royal Malaysian Air Force [3] v t e
	Marsyal tentera udara		Jeneral TUDM		Leftenan jeneral TUDM		Mejar jeneral TUDM		Brigedier jeneral TUDM		Kolonel TUDM		Leftenan kolonel TUDM		Mejar TUDM		Kapten TUDM		Leftenan TUDM			Leftenan muda TUDM
Rank group	General / flag officers										Senior officers						Junior officers

Student officer ranks

Rank group	Student officer
Royal Malaysian Navy [3]
	Pegawai kadet kanan	Pegawai kadet

Royal Military College Rank Structure from 2009 - today

Other ranks

The rank insignia of non-commissioned officers (NCOs) and enlisted personnel.

Rank group	Warrant officers								Senior NCOs														Junior NCOs						Enlisted
Malaysian Army [4] v t e																																			No insignia
	Pegawai waran I						Pegawai waran II		Staf sarjan		Sarjan												Koperal				Lans koperal								Prebet	Rekrut
Royal Malaysian Navy [5] v t e																																			No insignia
	Pegawai waran I						Pegawai waran II		Bintara kanan		Bintara muda												Laskar kanan				Laskar kelas I		Laskar kelas II						Perajurit muda
Royal Malaysian Air Force v t e																													No insignia						No insignia
	Pegawai waran udara I						Pegawai waran udara II		Flait sarjan		Sarjan udara												Koperal udara				Laskar udara kanan		Laskar udara I						Laskar udara II	Perajurit muda
Rank group	Warrant officers								Senior NCOs														Junior NCOs						Enlisted

Other military-based organization ranks

Royal Johor Military Force

The Royal Johor Military Force ranks are equal to army ranks but with their own insignia and salary scale. ^[6]

Commissioned officers

Rank group	General / flag officers										Senior officers						Junior officers
Royal Johor Military Force v t e																									No insignia
	Komandan						Mejar Jeneral		Brigedier Jeneral						Mejar		Kapten		Leftenan			Leftenan Muda			Pegawai Kadet

Other ranks

The following are rank insignia for other ranks for the Johor Military Force.

Rank group	Senior NCOs																						Junior NCOs						Enlisted
Royal Johor Military Force v t e																																			No insignia
							Pegawai Waren/Sarjan Mejar		Staf Sarjan		Sarjan												Korporal				Lans Korporal								Prebet	Rekrut

Malaysia Coast Guard

Malaysia Coast Guard ranks are equal to the Royal Malaysian Navy's ranks, but the MCG has their service grade and basic salary scale. In addition the MCG does not use the executive curl but instead, the badge of the MCG.

RELA Corps

The People's Volunteer Corps' (Malay : Jabatan Sukarelawan Malaysia, abbreviated RELA) ranks are equal to army ranks, with their own insignia and salary scale. Only permanent officers have salaries and allowances like other civil service staff but RELA Corps non-commissioned officers and lower rank are only given an allowance.

From 2012, RELA Corps rank system was changed and synchronized with the police rank system but still maintaining old insignia.

Rank group	General / flag officers										Senior officers						Junior officers
The People's Volunteer Corps [7] v t e
			Ketua Pesuruhjaya		Timbalan Ketua Pesuruhjaya		Pesuruhjaya		Timbalan Pesuruhjaya		Penolong Pesuruhjaya Kanan		Penolong Pesuruhjaya		Penguasa		Timbalan Penguasa Kanan		Timbalan Penguasa			Penolong Penguasa Kanan

Rank group	Senior NCOs																						Junior NCOs						Enlisted
The People's Volunteer Corps [7] v t e
	Penolang Penguasa I						Penolong Penguasa II		Pegawal tinggi I		Pegawal tinggi II												Pegawal Kanan I				Pegawal Kanan II

See also

• Malaysia Coast Guard ranks
• Royal Malaysian Police ranks

Notes

1. This rank is usually reserved to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong .
2. This grade is reserved to the Chief of Defence Force only.
3. This grade is reserved to the Chiefs of Army, Chief of Air Force and Chief of Navy only.
4. Colonel-in-Chiefs of the Army wear this rank.
5. Commodore-in-Chief of the Navy (the Sultan of Selangor) wears this rank.
6. Colonel-in-Chief of the Air Force (the Sultan of Pahang) wears this rank.
7. Malaysia, as a Commonwealth nation, has a rank structure similar to the British Army. This position may be referred to by a variety of names depending on the regiment or corps, such as "Colour Sergeant".
8. Just like the Staff Sergeant rank, the rank of Private has a variety of names depending on the regiment or corps. Other names for the rank of Private are "Ranger", "Gunner" and "Trooper".

References

1. "Pangkat-pangkat Dalam ATM" (in Malay). Retrieved 9 February 2012.
2. Chan, Dawn (2020-12-19). "Rohana, first woman appointed First Admiral in RMN | New Straits Times". NST Online. Retrieved 2022-02-23.
3. "Pangkat". mafhq.mil.my (in Malay). Malaysian Armed Forces. Archived from the original on 29 April 2020. Retrieved 4 June 2021.
4. "Kategori Pangkat". army.mod.gov.my/ (in Malagasy). Malaysian Army. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
5. "RMN other ranks". navy.mil.my. Royal Malaysian Navy. Retrieved 11 July 2021.
6. "Jadual Gaji & Sifir Pemindahan Gaji - Keselamatan & Pertahanan" [Salary Schedule & Salary Transfer Code - Security & Defence](PDF) (in Malay). Public Service Department (Malaysia). 1 July 2007: 194–203. Retrieved 27 August 2019.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
7. RELA DAERAH KLANGAT (11 November 2013). "Lencana Pangkat Jabatan Sukarelawan Malaysia.. @RELA_SELANGOR @relamalaysia @KP_RELA". Twitter. Archived from the original on 9 December 2025.