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Malaysia's armed forces, which encompasses three major branches, originate from the formation of local military forces in the first half of the 20th century, during British colonial rule of Malaya and Singapore prior to Malaya's independence in 1957. The branches have undergone several restructuring, but fundamentally includes the army, navy and air force.
The first military in Malaysia can be traced back to the Malay States Volunteer Rifles which existed from 1915 to 1936. The birth of the Malaysian Army came about when the Federal Council of Federated Malay States eventually passed the Malay Regiment Bill on 23 January 1933. This allowed the initial recruitment of 25 males for the First Experimental Malay Company on 1 March 1933. Major G. McI. S. Bruce of the Lincolnshire Regiment was the first Commanding Officer.
By 1 January 1935, the Experimental Company became The Malay Regiment with a complement of 150 men. A battalion was formed on 1 January 1938 and eventually a second battalion on 1 December 1941,.
The 1st Bn Malay Regiment was famous for its successful defence of Opium Hill (Malay : Bukit Chandu), Singapore, in the Battle of Pasir Panjang during the Battle of Singapore. The Battle of Opium Hill on 14 February 1942 involved 42 soldiers commanded by Lt. Adnan Bin Saidi who defended their position against attack from the 18th Division of the Japanese Imperial Army under Lt. Gen. Renya Mutaguchi. After World War II and during the Malayan Emergency, the number of battalions was increased to 7 in the early 1950s.
The Kor Armor DiRaja (Malay; English: Royal Armoured Corps) can trace its roots to the formation on 1 September 1952 of the Federation Reconnaissance Squadron. It was later merged with the Federation Regiment to form the Federation Reconnaissance Corps. The name underwent a few transformations from the Malaysian Reconnaissance Corps (16 September 1970), Royal Malaysian Reconnaissance Corps (May 1979) to Royal Cavalry Corps (December 1979) and finally to Kor Armor DiRaja (Royal Armoured Corps) on 8 December 1986.
The Royal Malaysian Navy originated from the Straits Settlement Volunteer Reserve Force formed on 27 April 1934 in Singapore. The formation of a Penang branch in 1938 saw its expansion. When the Second World War broke out in 1939, Britain strengthened its Naval Force in Southeast Asia by forming a unit called the "Malay Section of The Royal Navy" to protect the security of Singapore and Malaya. This unit which consisted of 400 men underwent training at a training camp called HMMS Pelandok, a British naval base in Singapore. Expansion saw the unit increase to 1450 men during World War II. Due to shortage of funds, the British disbanded the force after World War II in April 1947. The Malayan Naval Forces was again created in 1948 in response to the Malayan Emergency with the loan of one landing ship and five fast surface launches from the Royal Navy. In 1953, Queen Elizabeth awarded the Malayan Navy a Royal status to become the Royal Malayan Navy. The first vessel was a minesweeper called HMS Penyu or Turtle. After independence, it was transferred from Singapore on 12 July 1958 as an independent sovereign navy. On 16 September 1963 it was renamed as the Tentera Laut Diraja Malaysia (Royal Malaysian Navy) in accordance to the formation of Malaysia.
The Royal Malaysian Air Force was founded in 1936 as the Straits Settlement Volunteer Air Force (SSVAF) and later in 1940 as the Malayan Volunteers Air Force (MVAF) until 1942 during the Fall of Malaya. It was then reactivated after World War II as the Malayan Auxiliary Air Force in 1950. The passing of the Air Force Ordinance by the Parliament on 2 June 1958 saw the creation of Royal Malayan Air Force (RMAF). The first adviser was seconded from the Royal Air Force (RAF), Air Commodore A.V.R Johnstsone who became the first Chief of the RMAF. The proud few who formed the RMAF were Flying Officer Lim Heng Lip, Sergeant Subramanian, Corporal Othman Mohd Ismail, Corporal Wan Said, Corporal JD Parsley, Corporal Mahadeven, Senior Aircraftman (SAC) Surindam, SAC Md Noor, SAC Zainal, SAC Mohd Hussain and Junior Technician (JT) Ismail Ariffin. The first aircraft acquired for Squadron No 1 was a Scottish Aviation Twin Pioneer which served the RMAF for 12 years. It was named Lang Rajawali by Tunku Abdul Rahman, the first Prime Minister of Malaya. With the formation of Malaysia on 16 September 1963, the name of the force was changed to Tentera Udara Diraja Malaysia (Royal Malaysian Air Force).
At the time of independence in 1957, the Malayan Armed Forces, together with British Commonwealth troops were engaged in the Emergency, a communist insurgency in the Malayan interior. The Malayan Communist Party, led by Chin Peng, found support mainly among the ethnic Chinese. Independence for Malaya removed the major grounds for the rebellion, and by 1960 Chin Peng had ordered an end to the fighting.
Three years after the end of the Emergency, the merger of Malaya, Singapore, Sarawak and North Borneo (now Sabah) to form the current Federation of Malaysia was opposed militarily by the Sukarno regime of Indonesia. Called the Confrontation, this was mainly a low-level conflict fought in the jungles of Borneo. Malaysian forces were once again assisted by Commonwealth troops. By 1966, Sukarno had been toppled, and the war was at an end.
However, just three years later, Chin Peng reignited the dormant communist insurgency. The communists never gained much ground, and were engaged mainly by the Royal Malaysian Police. Nevertheless, it was twenty years before a peace agreement was signed in 1989.
The Malaysian Armed Forces, are the armed forces of Malaysia, consists of three branches; the Malaysian Army, Royal Malaysian Navy and the Royal Malaysian Air Force. The number of MAF active personnel is 113,000 along with reserve forces at 51,600.
The Malayan Emergency, also known as the Anti–British National Liberation War, (1948–1960) was a guerrilla war fought in the Federation of Malaya between communist fighters of the Malayan National Liberation Army (MNLA) and the military forces of the Federation of Malaya, British Empire and Commonwealth. The communists fought to win independence for Malaya from the British Empire and to establish a communist state, while the Malayan Federation and Commonwealth forces fought to combat communism and protect British economic and colonial interests. The term "Emergency" was used by the British to characterise the conflict in order to avoid referring to it as a war, because London-based insurers would not pay out in instances of civil wars.
The Royal Malaysian Air Force was formed on 2 June 1958 as the Royal Federation of Malaya Air Force. However, its roots can be traced back to the Malayan Auxiliary Air Force formations of the British Royal Air Force in then-colonial British Malaya. The Royal Malaysian Air Force operates a mix of modern American, European and Russian-made aircraft.
The Malayan Communist Party (MCP), officially the Communist Party of Malaya (CPM), was a Marxist–Leninist and anti-imperialist communist party which was active in British Malaya and later, the modern states of Malaysia and Singapore from 1930 to 1989. It was responsible for the creation of both the Malayan Peoples' Anti-Japanese Army and the Malayan National Liberation Army.
The Malaysian Army is the land component of the Malaysian Armed Forces. Steeped in British Army traditions, the Malaysian Army does not carry the title ‘royal’ as do the Royal Malaysian Navy and the Royal Malaysian Air Force. Instead, the title is bestowed on selected army corps and regiments who have been accorded the honour by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, who is the Supreme Commander of the Malaysian Armed Forces.
The Rejimen Askar Wataniah is the military reserve force of the Malaysian Army.
Royal Intelligence Corps is a Malaysian intelligence agency specialising in intelligence gathering, intelligence analysis, psychological warfare, surveillance, espionage, reconnaissance and counter-intelligence operations. It also manages the propaganda and counter-propaganda effort of the Malaysian Army.
The Federation Regiment was an attempt by British General Gerald Templer (1898–1979) to form a multiracial infantry regiment of the Malayan Federation Army.
The Kor Polis Tentera DiRaja is the military police branch of the Malaysian Army. Referred to as the "Redcaps" like their British counterpart or, more popularly, known as "MPs", the Kor Polis Tentera DiRaja keep discipline within the Army ranks and ensure security at Malaysian Army installations.
Gerak Khas (GK), or Grup Gerak Khas, (GGK) also spelled Gerakhas, is a Malaysian Army special forces (MASF) unit that performs special operations missions such as direct action, unconventional warfare, sabotage, counter-terrorism, and intelligence gathering. Gerak Khas was founded in 1965 during the Indonesia-Malaysia conflict, and they gained worldwide fame and recognition after successfully pacifying the communist insurgency in Malaysia's jungles between 1968 and 1989.
The Royal Armoured Corps or Kor Armor Diraja (KAD) is the armoured forces of the Malaysian Army.
The Malayan National Liberation Army (MNLA) was a Communist guerrilla army that fought for Malayan independence from the British Empire during the Malayan Emergency (1948–1960) and later fought against the Malaysian government in the Communist insurgency in Malaysia (1968–1989). Many MNLA fighters were former members of the Malayan Peoples' Anti-Japanese Army (MPAJA), including its leader Chin Peng.
The Communist insurgency in Malaysia, also known as the Second Malayan Emergency, was an armed conflict which occurred in Malaysia from 1968 to 1989, between the Malayan Communist Party (MCP) and Malaysian federal security forces.
The RMAF Special Forces, better known as PASKAU, is the special forces of the Royal Malaysian Air Force.
The Royal Brunei Armed Forces (RBAF); Malay: Angkatan Bersenjata Diraja Brunei (ABDB), Jawi: رايول بروناي آرميد فوس, is the official organisation and collective term for all of the military forces or service branches of the sultanate of Brunei Darussalam. The RBAF consists of three primary military branches; the Royal Brunei Land Force, the Royal Brunei Navy, and the Royal Brunei Air Force.
The Chief of the Defence Forces is the professional head of the Malaysian Armed Forces and the most senior uniformed military adviser to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, the Prime Minister and the Minister of Defence. The CDF is based at Wisma Pertahanan, Kuala Lumpur, nearby to the Ministry of Defence. The CDF is the highest rank in Malaysia Armed Forces only after the YDPA which holds the title Commander-in-Chief.
The Special Forces and Elite Forces include both a specially and higher trained unit and a small percentage of personnel from a specific Malaysian military branch, law enforcement or government agency. In Malaysia, the term 'Special Forces' is widely used by uniformed services for special forces, special operations forces and 'special' trained units while 'Elite Forces' for units that more trained and capable combat. Regular personnel must undertake specialized and higher training to be able to join the units of the 'Special and Elite Forces'. These "Special Elite Forces" are denoted by different beret colours, shoulder tabs, unit patches, skill badges and uniforms.
The Special Forces Selection is the recruitment, selection, and training process for candidates of the Special forces units in Malaysia. This selection process is not limited only to the special forces of the Malaysian Armed Forces but also includes the Royal Malaysian Police, the Malaysian Coast Guard, and the Johor Military Forces, which is a private army of the state of Johor. Currently, there are four training centres, also known as commando schools, and one non-commando school in Malaysia that conduct special forces selection.
The Royal Malaysian Air Force Regiment is a ground-based formation that is part of the Royal Malaysian Air Force. It comprises units that serve as special forces, air force infantry, security forces, and ground combat instructors. The regiment's headquarters are located at RMAF Jugra Air Base in Banting, Selangor.
Royal Logistics Corps is an organization that responsible providing logistical support includes managing the supply chain, ensuring the availability of essential resources like food, water, fuel, ammunition and overseeing the transportation of personnel and equipment for Malaysian Armed Forces. The corps is also responsible for the maintenance and repair of military vehicles and equipment, delivering medical services, emergency care and providing administrative support. By fulfilling these critical functions, the Royal Logistics Corps enables the Malaysian Army to maintain its effectiveness and readiness for various operations and missions.
