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Malaysian Army

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File:Tenteradaratlogo.jpg
Crest of Malaysian Army

The Malaysian Army (Malay: Tentera Darat) 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 Air Force and the Royal Malaysian Navy. Instead. the 'Royal' title is bestowed on selected army corps and regiments who have been accorded the honour by His Majesty the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.

History

The first military units in Malaysia can be traced back to The Malay States Volunteer Rifles which existed from 1915-1936. 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 Jan 1938 and eventually a second battalion on 1 Dec 1941.

The 1st Bn Malay Regiment was famous for its defence of Opium Hill or Bukit Chandu in 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 50s.

The Kor Armor DiRaja (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 19670, 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.

Organisation and structure

The Malaysian Army is currently organised into 4 Divisions, three of which (the 2nd, 3th and 4th Divisions) are based in Peninsular Malaysia and the fourth (the 1st Division) is based in East Malaysia. Formations in Peninsular Malaysia are placed under the Army Corps Headquarters. The Special Forces Group is an independent formation and subordinate to the Chief of the Army.

The Malaysian Army currently has 17 Corps or Regiments in the organisation. These are grouped into 3 main components, the Combat Element, The Combat Support Element and the Support Elements.

File:050714-N-7912E-004view.jpg
Soldiers from the Malaysian Army secure a portion of jungle after arriving in a landing craft, air cushion, (LCAC) vehicle from USS Boxer (LHD 4) during Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) Malaysia.

Corps and regiments

Combat elements

Rejimen Askar Melayu DiRaja

  • Rejimen Askar Melayu DiRaja(Royal Malay Regiment)is the most senior regiment of the Malaysian Army. Its ranks are recruited from amongst the Malay population.
  • The Regiment presently has 25 battalions which are configured as Standard Infantry Battalions (20 battalions), Mechanised Infantry Battalions (2 battalions), Parachute Infantry Battalions (2 battalions) or as Support Battalions (1 battalion). The 1st Battalion, the most senior in the Regiment, currently undertakes ceremonial and Royal Guard duties.
  • A unit of the Regiment, 19th Bn Royal Malay Regiment (Mech) was involved in the rescue of US Rangers and Delta Force operatives in Somalia during the Battle of Mogadishu. The unit of 32 Radpanzer Condor APCs and 113 men from MALBATT 1 went in with the United States 10th Mountain Division to rescue the trapped rangers. Four APCs were immobilised and were destroyed by US helicopter gunships. 19th Malay suffered 1 soldier killed in action (KIA), Pvt Mat Aznan Awang while 8 others were wounded in action (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 medals in a single unit in a single operation.

Rejimen Renjer DiRaja

Capt. Norul Hisyam of the 8th Royal Ranger Regiment, Malaysian Army, teaches patrol, ambush, and jungle attack to U.S. Marines and sailors
  • Rejimen Renjer DiRaja (Royal Ranger Regiment)is a multi-racial unit organised along similar lines to the Rejimen Askar Melayu DiRaja. There are presently 10 Renjer battalions.
  • The Regiment traces its roots to the Sarawak Rangers and the Sarawak Constabulary, famed jungle trekkers who had a deadly reputation during the Malayan Emergency and during the communist Party of Malaya’s insurgency in Malaysia.
  • The 8th Bn Royal Ranger Regiment (8 Renjer) was the first infantry battalion in the Malaysian Army to undergo conversion into an airborne battalion. The unit is presently assigned to the elite 10 Brigade (Para).
  • The Malaysian Army's most decorated hero, WOI (Rtd) Kanang anak Langkau was a Regimental Sargeant Major of 8 Renjer .

Kor Armor DiRaja

Special Forces

  • Rejimen Gerak Khas (Special Forces Regiment); Home of various specialists and the Commando battalions which are capable of conducting unconventional warfare or special operations.
  • 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 were killed in action while another 4 were wounded. One of the injured men was taken hostage by the militia and was released 9 hours later.

Combat support element

Rejimen Artileri DiRaja

  • Rejimen Artileri DiRaja (Royal Artillery Regiment) is the artillery corps of the Malaysian Army and provides artillery support and local air defense for army units.
  • The regiment is equipped with 18 Brazilian-made Astros II multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS) and the 28 G5 MkIII towed artillery guns from South Africa. Air defense is provided using a mix of Swiss Oerlikon twin 35mm and Swedish Bofors 40mm anti-aircraft artillery and missile systems such as the Jernas and Starburst from the UK; Anza from Pakistan and Igla from Russia.

Rejimen Semboyan DiRaja

  • Rejimen Semboyan DiRaja (Royal Signals Regiment) is in charge of communications, electronic warfare and early warning systems such as radar.

Kor Polis Tentera DiRaja

  • Kor Polis Tentera DiRaja (Royal Military Police Corps) deploy as part of the field army in support of army operations and enforces proper conduct among army personnel. Aside from being responsible for base security, the military police are also tasked with preventing and investigating criminal activities on army property or by military personnel.

Rejimen Askar Jurutera DiRaja

Rejimen Askar Jurutera DiRaja (Royal Engineers Regiment) is tasked with demolitions, bridge-laying and the repair of military infrastructure such as airbase runways or clearing obstacles in emergency situations.

Kor Jurutera Letrik dan Jentera DiRaja

Kor Risik DiRaja

  • Kor Risik DiRaja (Royal Intelligence Corps) specializes in psychological warfare (psyops), surveillance, espionage, reconnaissance and counter-intelligence operations. Aside from handling propaganda and counter-propaganda, the corps is also tasked with conducting background checks on recruits when they first enroll in any training courses.

Pasukan Udara Tentera Darat

  • Pasukan Udara Tentera Darat (Army Air Corps) is the Army Aviation branch formed around a core of Royal Malaysian Air Force officers.
  • This young Army formation is tasked with liaison duties, provides limited transportation capabilities, close air support and also air reconnaissance using light observation helicopters.

The unit presently has one squadron, no. 881 Squadron, equipped with 11 Agusta A109 LOH and 10 SA 316 Alouette III light helicopters. The main Army Air Corps base is located in Kluang, Johor.

Rejimen Askar Wataniah

  • Rejimen Askar Wataniah (Territorial Army) forms the second line of Malaysia's defence. Formed by college students, professionals and civilians, they provide support for the regular armed forces of Malaysia and are responsible for the security of key installations in times of conflict. Originally tasked with area and local defence, the Askar Wataniah units have been reconfigured and will perform front line duties alongside regular units when the need arises. Wataniah units such as armored squadrons are integral units of several Kor Armor DiRaja regiments.

Support elements

Kor Ordnans Diraja

  • Kor Ordnans Diraja (Royal Ordnance Corps) ensures that all military supplies and ordnance are stored, secured and inventoried properly.

Kor Agama Angkatan Tentera

  • Kor Agama Angkatan Tentera (KAGAT) performs religious (chaplainry) services for Muslim army personnel of the Malaysian Army. They also provide counselling and conduct ritual prayers on the battlefield.

Kor Perkhidmatan Diraja

  • Kor Perkhidmatan Diraja (Royal Logistics Corps) is in charge of ferrying troops and supplies to the various units of the Malaysian Army.

Kor Kesihatan Diraja

  • Kor Kesihatan Diraja (Royal Medical Corps) provides training for Army medics and other specialists. It runs the Armed Forces hospitals and provides the battlefield mobile hospitals. The unit has also provided rel1ef MALMEDTIMs (Malaysian Medical Teams) to Pakistan and Indonesia.

Kor Perkhidmatan Am

Kor Perkhidmatan Am (Royal General Services Corps) is a branch of MA that handles administration and financial management of the entire army.

Rejimen Pengurusan Sempadan

As of 1st July 2006, the Deputy Prime Minister-cum-Defense Minister, Dato Seri Najib Tun Razak had announced the formation of a new regiment specifically for border patrol. Members of the regiment will be taken from the various regiments and corps, most notably from the Rejimen Askar Wataniah. The minister also added that the Rejimen Askar Wataniah 300 series and 500 series Regiments will be restructured in the near future to accomodate the formation of the Rejimen Pengurusan Sempadan. It is believed that the army will form about 2 to 3 brigades of this new regiment. [1] [2]

Media

Unlike many other nations, there seems to be little interest from the local film industry to film movies touching on patriotism and the 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 the military. Another reason for 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 series called Insurgensi, starring Norman Hakim. The series was shown on RTM1 for about 13 episodes before it was suddenly discontinued. No reason has been given as to why the series was discontinued but it is believed that the army continues to push for its re-airing on prime time. The army continues to show the series to National Service recruits. Recently, the Army produced a 13-episode documentary called Penggempur. It was originally slated to be shown on national television on 1 March 2006. This was postponed to 2 April 2006 due to a change of guards in the state-owned television station. Summary of episodes are as mentioned below:

  • 4th Mechanised Brigade
  • Royal Artillery Regiment
  • 10th Parachute 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
  • Territorial Army

Bat 21

The movie Bat 21 was shot in Sabah, Malaysia with the support and co-operation of the Malaysian Armed Forces. The movie is based on the real-lfe rescue of Lt. Col. Iceal Hambleton [3], a systems specialist in an RB-66B Destroyer[4] who was shot down over Vietnam. Alvis Scorpion tanks, Alvis Stormer APCs and personnel from Kor Armor DiRaja was used in one of the movie climatic scenes.

Strength and equipment

Present strength of the Malaysian Army is approximately as follows :

MALAYSIAN ARMY Active: 100,000 personnel Active Reserve: 50,000 personnel

4 infantry divisions, formed from 10 infantry brigades, 1 parachute brigade and 1 mechanised brigade. The 3rd Division ("Sehitam, Semerah") is converting to become the army's first combined arms formation.

  • 26 STANDARD INFANTRY Battalions
  • 4 LIGHT INFANTRY Battalions
  • 3 AIRBORNE Infantry Battalions
  • 4 MECHANISED Infantry Battalions
  • 5 ARMOURED REGIMENTS (1 Tank Regiment)
  • 16 ARTILLERY REGIMENTS (4 Low Level Air Defence)
  • 3 SPECIAL FORCES REGIMENTS
  • AIR ASSAULT Bn TO BE CREATED SOON

50,000 Active Reserve In approximatelty 60 Infantry (Askar Wataniah) Battalions.

STANDARD ISSUE INFANTRY WEAPONS

1It was recently announced that the Army would standardise on the M4 Carbine as its assault rifle (to be locally produced).

File:Cmi1.jpg
Scorpion 90 fitted with the 90mm gun, similar to the type used by the Malaysian Army

ARMOUR

TRANSPORT

  • 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.

ARTY:

  • 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

AIR DEFENCE MISSILES:

ANTI TANK WEAPONS:

RADARS:

  • GIRAFFE AIR DEFENCE
  • SKYGUARD
  • ARTHUR ARTY LOCATING RADAR
  • ASELSAN ASKARAD GSR

ARMY AIR WING:

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