Malaysian Army
Encyclopedia : M : MA : MAL : Malaysian Army
The Malaysian Army (Malay: Tentera Darat) is a branch of the Malaysian Armed Forces. Similar to British Army tradition, the Malaysian Army does not carry the title 'Royal' as do the Royal Malaysian Air Force and the Royal Malaysian Navy. The 'Royal' title is carried only by select army corps and regiments accorded the honour by His Majesty the King.
Contents
Infantry
The first formation of military force can be traced to The Malay States Volunteer Rifles which existed from 1915-1936. The birth of Malaysian Army started 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 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 new battalion was formed on 1 Jan 1938 with the second battalion on 1 Dec 1941. The 1st Malay Regiment was famous for its defence of Opium Hill or Bukit Chandu in Singapore. The ‘Battle of Opium Hill’ on 14 February 1942 involves 42 soldiers commanded by Lt. Adnan Saidi defending their position against the attack from the 18th Division of the Japanese Imperial Army under Lt.Gen. Renya Mutaguchi. After World War II, the number of battalions was increased to 7 in the early 50s.
Armour
The first Armoured Regiment was formed on 1 September 1952. The name underwent a few transformations from Federation Reconnaissance Corps on 16 September 1967, Royal Malaysian Recon Corp in May 1979 to Royal Cavalry Corp in December 1979 to finally to Royal Armoured Corp on 8 December 1986.Army Corps and Regiments
The Malaysian Army currently has 17 corps or regiments under its wing. They are:
- Rejimen Askar Melayu DiRaja (Royal Malay Regiment) is the first regiment of the MA. As its name suggests, only Malays are allowed to join. It also has its own Mechanized Brigade as well as 2 rapid-deploy paratrooper battalions. A unit of the Regiment, 19 Royal Malay Regiment was involved in the rescue of US Rangers and Delta Forces operatives in Somalia during the Battle of Mogadishu. The unit of 32 Radpanzer Condor APC and 113 men from MALBATT 1 went in with 10th Mountain to rescue the trapped rangers. 4 APCs were immobilised and was destroyed by US Cobras. 1 KIA, Pvt Mat Aznan Awang and 8 others were WIA. Pvt Mat Aznan Awang was later promoted posthumously to Corporal and was awarded with Pingat Seri Pahlawan Gagah Perkasa, the nation's highest gallantry award. In total, 7 officers and 26 NCOs were awarded with various medals for their valour during the operation, the highest number of men recommended for medal in a single unit in a single operation.
- Rejimen Renjer DiRaja (Royal Rangers Regiment) is a multi-racial version of RAMD. The Regiment is an independent Regiment and does not have the role to complement the Royal Malay Regiment. In fact, both regiments have assisted each other in theater of operations many times. Both Royal Malay Regiment and Royal Ranger Regiment are part of the Army's Infantry Corp. They are trained in almost aspect of the conventional warfare, just like RAMD±. The 8 Royal Ranger Regiment is the first infantry battalion in the Malaysian Army to be converted into an airborne battalion. The unit is now currently placed under the elite 10th Paratrooper Brigade. The Army's most decorated hero, who is also Malaysia's most decorated hero, WOI (Rtd) Kanang anak Langkau came from this battalion. The Regiment is also the most decorated unit in the Army.
- Kor Armor DiRaja (Royal Armour Corps) is the armoured corps of the MA. It will be receiving 48 Twardy PT-91 Main Battle Tanks from Poland, which will be a valuable asset to the MA's arsenal.
- Rejimen Artileri Diraja (Royal Artillery Regiment) is the artillery corps of the MA. It also receiving the 12 Brazilian's Astros II MLRS and towed artillery gun from South Africa. In addition, RAD also undertakes air defence duties using Oerlikon 37mm and Bofors 40mm anti-aircraft artillery and MBDA Jernas SAMs.
- Rejimen Semboyan Diraja (Royal Signals Regiment) is in charge of communications and electronic warfare during the war. It also utilises the Early Warning and Detection System such as Radar.
- Rejimen Gerak Khas (Special Forces Regiment); all the elites, experts and specialists of various warfare gather here. It is also the home of the Commando battalions that capable of conduct unconventional warfare or special operations without the restrictions of the terrain. One of the known foreign operations involving this regiment was an attack by Somali militia on a convoy transporting UN Intelligence Chief in UNOSOM II on 18 July 1994. In the action, 2 members of the regiment was killed in action and another 4 were wounded. One of the wounded was taken hostage by the militia and was released 9 hours later.
- Kor Perkhidmatan Am (Royal General Services Corps) is a branch of MA that handles all paperwork and administration, as well as the financial management of the entire army.
- Kor Polis Tentera Diraja (Royal Military Police Corps); this branch of MA trains Military Police army personnel that will serve as a disciplinary control of all army personnel within the country. They also provide the security services on every single army barracks's gateway.
- Kor Kesihatan Diraja (Royal Medical Corps) trains medics and surgeon specialists that serves as life savers on the battlefield. They are also taking part in United Nation's Peace Keeping Operations where they will not only serve the MA, but the refugees and civilians in times of need.
- Kor Risik Diraja (Royal Intelligence Corps) specialize in psycho-warfare (ie, psyops), surveillance, spying, reconnaissance and counter-intelligence operations. they also filters the background of recruits when they first enroll in any training courses. The corp also handles propaganda and counter-propaganda effort.
- Kor Perkhidmatan Diraja (Royal Logistics Corps); ferrying of troops and military supplies are performed by this regiment.
- Kor Ordnans Diraja (Royal Ordnance Corps) ensures that all military supplies and ordnance are in good storage and maintains the security of the army's inventory.
- Rejimen Askar Jurutera Diraja (Royal Engineering Regiment) is the place which deals with demolition, forming bridges for transportation and also the repair of military infrastructure such as airbase runways or clearing obstacles in emergency situations.
- Kor Juru Letrik dan Jentera Diraja (Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineering Corps) takes care of all vehicles and machinery of MA and maintains their usability at all times.
- Kor Agama Angkatan Tentera (KAGAT) performs religious services for Muslim army personnel of MA. They also provide counselling and conduct ritual prayers on the battlefield.
- Rejimen Askar Wataniah (Territorial Army Regiment) forms the second line of defence of the entire Malaysia, formed by college students, professionals and civilians, they provide support for the regular armed forces of Malaysia and security services of key infrastrutures in times of conflict. They can also act as recon agents in times of need.
- Pasukan Udara Tentera Darat (Army Air Corps) is the air support formed by a group of ex-RMAF officers. This newest squad provides air cover, transportation or ferry, limited air support and also air reconnaissance using helicopters. Including Agusta A109 and (SA 316) Alouette III army helicopters. The main army air corps bases is located in Kluang, Johor.
Media
Different from most nation, there seems to be little interest from the local film industry to film movies touching on patriotism and military in Malaysia. The dearth of these films and the growing concern over the lack of patriotism among younger generations of Malaysians have pushed the Army to film a movie titled Lt Adnan in 2000. The movie was launched on August 31, 2001 by the then King of Malaysia. The movie had renewed interest among younger generations of Malaysians to take up a career in military. Another reason to the increased interest was also that the financial crisis in 1997 had caused unemployment to rise significantly while the number of graduates kept on increasing from year to year. The next project was a 29-episode drama called Insurgensi, starring Norman Hakim. The drama was shown on RTM1 for about 13 episodes before it was suddenly discontinued. No reason has been given to the discontinuation. Efforts from the Army Headquarters to get drama to be shown again on prime time is believed to be continuing. The drama itself is still continued to be shown to National Service recruits. Recently, the Army had produced a set of 13 episodes of documentary called Penggempur. It was originally slated to be shown on national television on March 1, 2006. This was postponed to a later date due to change of guards in the state-owned television station. (Update: The documentary has been broadcasted to Malaysians on RTM1 beginning April 2 2006.) Summary of episodes are as mentioned below:- 4 Mechanised Brigade
- Royal Artillery Regiment
- 10 Paratrooper Brigade
- Royal Engineer Corp
- Skuadron Istiadat Berkuda/Mounted Squadron of Royal Armoured Corp
- Royal Ranger Regiment
- Royal Services Corp
- Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineering Corp
- Royal Medical Corp
- Royal Military Police Corp
Strength and Equipment
Present strength of the Malaysian Army is approximately as follows :
MALAYSIAN ARMY ACTIVE: 100,000 MEN ACTIVE RESERVE: 70,000 MEN
4 Infantry Divisions, formed from 10 infantry Brigades, 1 Para Brigade and 1 Mechnaised Brigade
- 26 STANDARD INFANTRY Battalions
- 4 LIGHT INFANTRY Battalions
- 3 AIRBORNE Infantry Battalions
- 4 MECHANISED Infantry Battalions
- 5 ARMOURED REGIMENTS (1 Tank Regiment)
- 16 ARTY REGIMENTS (4 Low Level Air Defence)
- 3 SPECIAL FORCES REGIMENTS
- AIR ASSAULT Bn TO BE CREATED SOON
STANDARD ISSUE INFANTRY WEAPONS
- STEYR AUG A1
- M16A1/M203
- CAR 15
- HK MP5SD/A2
- FN MINIMI PARA LMG
- HK 11A1 LMG
- FN MAG 58
- M 60A2
- MILKOR MGL MK1
- It was recently announced that the Army will standardise its assault rifle on the M4 Carbine, to be locally produced.
- 1511 units of Truck 3 Ton 4x4 GS Cargo HICOM Handalan.
- 168 units of Truck 2 Ton 4x4 Pinzgauer Gun Tractor
- 164 units of Truck 2 Ton 6x6 Pinzgauer Mortar Transporter complete with 144 units of ammunition trailers.
- 13 units of Truck 6 Ton 4x4 Recovery Light Isuzu FTS33H.
- 29 units of Truck 5 Ton 4x4 Communication Shelter Isuzu FSS32G.
- 19 units of Truck 2 Ton 4x4 IVECO M4010 Field Ambulance and
- 4 units of Truck 2 Ton 4x4 IVECO M4012 Satellite Communication Vehicle.
- 33 units of Gomba Stonefield Field Ambulance.
- 18 X KERIS (ASTROS II) 300MM MLRS
- 28 X DENEL G5 MK 3 155 MM HOWITZER
- 15 X VSEL FH 70 155 MM HOWITZER
- 18 X SAKTI 105MM LIGHT GUN
- 200 X OTO MELARA 105 MM PACK HOWITZER
- 300 X L16 ML 81MM MORTAR
- 29 X GDF-005 OERLIKON 35 MM TWIN
- 36 X BOFORS 40 MM L70
- 150 x M40 106 mm recoilless gun
- 15 X JERNAS (ON ORDER)
- 700 X SHORTS STARBURST(MOST WITH LML LAUNCHERS)
- 500 X ANZA MK II
- 200 X SA 16 IGLA
- BHAKTAR SHIKAN (TOW LIKE ) ATGW
- MILAN 2T ATGW
- METIS -M ATGW
- ERYX ATGW
- BOFORS AT4
- C90 RRB
- CARL GUSTAV 84 MM
- M-40 106MM RR
- GIRAFFE AIR DEFENCE
- SKYGUARD
- ARTHUR ARTY LOCATING RADAR
- ASELSAN ASKARAD GSR
- 9 X SA316B ALLOUTTE III
- 11 X AGUSTA A109H (DELIVERY 2007)
- 10 X ULAN UDE MI-171 (ORDERED)
External links
- [Malaysian Ministry of Defense]
- [DefenceTalk.com] Leading website on Global Military News, Pictures, Discussions and more!
- [Malaysian Army]
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