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DISCUSS WHAT ARE THE RELEVANCE AND APPLICATION OF THE TOTAL

QUALITY MANAGEMENT (TQM) TO THE MALAYSIAN ARMY.

“The role of the Malaysian Armed Forces is a very challenging one. Apart from

national defence, it is also involved in the process of nation-building.”

Dato’ Seri Dr Mahathir Mohamad

Kuala Lumpur
19941

INTRODUCTION

1. Malaysian Armed Forces (MAF’s) are responsible for the protection of the

country and his sovereignty against internal and external threats. They serve in a

wide variety of situations such as assisting civil authorities in addressing

domestic threats and law enforcement, maintaining public security, providing aid

following the onset of natural disasters and assisting in national development

programmes.

2. Confidence in the Military and Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad

Badawi topped the list in a national survey related to trust in political institutions.

The survey showed that 76.3 per cent of Malaysians believed they could trust the

military, followed by the prime minister with 75.8%, done by the Asia Barometer

1
Dato’ Nordin Yusof, Abdul Razak Abdullah Baginda.(1994). Honour & Sacrifice: The Malaysian
Armed Forces, Kuala Lumpur: Malaysian Armed Forces, pp 147.
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Survey in collaboration with ‘Merdeka’ Center. About 1,200 face-to-face

interviews were carried out in 14 different languages between July and August

last year, in conjunction with 51st Malaysia Independence Day.2

3. September last year, Chief of Defence Force, General Tan Sri Abdul Aziz

Haji Zainal, during the celebration of the 75th anniversary of MAF said, “The 75th

anniversary motto, ‘Our Commitment, Your Confidence’ is MAF’s sacrifice for the

country. We will protect the country’s security and sovereignty with all

professionalism”.3 This mean, public confidence towards military institution in this

country is important to support its role and perform his missions.

AIM

4. The aim of this paper is to discuss the theme of the MAF Anniversary and

how best MAF can achieve this vision and Malaysian’s aspirations. The

discussion hopes to identify the appropriate way to implement and what to meet

the needs in implementing the theme.

SCOPE

5. The scopes of the discussion are as follows:

a. The Malaysian Armed Forces – Transmission of new era.

2
http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST.
3
http://www.bharian.com.my/Semasa _BH.
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b. The Malaysian Armed Forces – Toward Malaysians’ aspiration.

c. The Malaysian Armed Forces – Toward Malaysians’ aspiration.

d. The Malaysian Armed Forces: issues and Challenges.

e. Conclusion.

f. Recommendation.

THE MALAYSIAN ARMED FORCES - TRANSMISSION OF NEW ERA

6. The primary role of the MAF is to defend the country and his territory. This

means to say that the MAF must be able to fight, lethal, deployable, and win the

war in order to safeguard our territory and uphold sovereignty. At the same time,

MAF must also prepare for supporting roles in operations such as assisting civil

authorities in maintaining peace and order, disaster relief and humanitarian

assistance. The MAF has undergone major changes since its inception and has

now turned full circle as its core unit was set up 75 years ago as a conventional

force after the World War II and after the counter insurgency period ended in the

late 1980s, remodeled into a conventional fighting force in its own right. The

existence of communist in the country for about 60 years since 1930s had taken

its tool in the development of the MAF. Through its colourful history, the main

preoccupation of the MAF was geared towards Counter Insurgency Warfare to

fight against the communist. Consequently, the shape and size of the MAF was

greatly influenced by the communists.

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7. Malaysia recently celebrated the nation’s 51st anniversary of his

independence with a proud economic track record of having achieved so much

more in four-and-half decades than was achieved in four-and-half centuries,

variously under Portuguese, Dutch, and British and a Japanese colonial rule. In a

similar vein, the MAF too, has developed from a lightly equipped, army-centered;

counter-insurgency (COIN) oriented force into what it is today – a well balanced

force equipped with state-of-the-art sensors and weapon systems. The MAF has

developed in tandem with the remarkable economics progress of the county

since independence. Economic progress itself did not happen by accident, but by

the design with the MAF played a vital part in ensuring a conductive and stable

environment for the fulfillment of the nation’s economic goals.

THE MALAYSIAN ARMED FORCES – TOWARDS MALAYSIANS’

ASPIRATION

CIVIL-MILITARY AFFFAIRS

8. Military-Civil action may be defined as ”the use of military resources on

project useful to the local population at all levels, in such field as education,

training, public work, agriculture, transportation, communication, health,

sanitation and others, contributing to economic and social development, which

also serve to improve the relationship of the military forces with the people”. 4
4
Dato’ Nordin Yusof, Abdul Razak Abdullah Baginda.(1994). Honour & Sacrifice: The
Malaysian Armed Forces, Kuala Lumpur: Malaysian Armed Forces, pp 139.

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Hence, defence has been recognized as having contributed and will continue to

contribute to the well-being of the nation.

MALAYSIAN ARMED FORCES PARTNERSHIP

9. Military partnerships are another platform to strengthen the existing

cooperation with other agencies in the name of security and stability of the

country. To ensure stability and national security, MAF cooperated with security

agencies like National Security Council, Royal Malaysian Police (PDRM),

Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agencies (APMM), Immigration, Custom and

other enforcement agencies. Cooperation with the police involved annual

operation and training, and its report was tabled at the annual ATM/PDRM

Operation and Training Coordination Committee. Former Chief Of Defence

Force, Admiral (R) Tan Sri Mohd Anwar Hj Mohd Noor, during his tenure has took

and geared an initiative of ‘Complementary Chained of Command’ and setting up

a National Crisis Command to coordinate the country’s civil and defence forces in

an efficient and focused manner.5 This means the close ties and work hand in

hand with PDRM being fostered and assured that the military will be playing a

purely support role and will respect the police command in civilian-related

activities. The PDRM also will similarly defer to military command when request.

THE MALAYSIAN ARMED FORCES: BEYOND THE HORIZON

5
M Ghazemy Mahmud, Complementary Chain of Command, Asian Defence Journal, Jul 2005 pp
12.
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10. MAF also has military cooperation and training with foreign countries, via

operations, training and military exercises. The MAF is known to the world for its

active participation in peacekeeping operations. A commitment established ever

since the Malaysian Army participation in the United Nations’ operation in the

Congo (UNOC 1960-1963)6. In the case of peacekeeping operations, the MAF

has the benefit of vast experience from past deployment. The MAF has had

extensive experience in peace enforcement missions in such environments as

Somalia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and many other countries. It was promoted

Malaysia as peace-maker, peace-keeper and peace enforcer not only at the

national level but also at the regional and international perspective.

11. Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief Operations is another area

where the MAF is always ready to contribute. Tsunami 2004 showed that the

operation of its forces is beyond the boundary. Malaysia Medical Unit (MMU)

operating in Western Sahara is recognized by all over the world.

12. War on Terrorism is very common on military’s strategy today. Terrorism

has become one of the prominent security issues in the region. Developments in

the post Sept 11 era have shown that non-conventional threats have become

foremost security concerns with terrorism posing serious challenge to

international security. A key issue that has emerged out of this is the maritime

6
Asian Defence Journal and Perajurit, Malaysian Army Maturing Nicely, MAF Handbook, pp 11.
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security. There are concerns that maritime targets would be easily vulnerable to

terrorist attacks as compared to land or air. In this regard, the Straits of Malacca,

one of the busiest waterways in the world, has been singled out as a potential

terrorist target in the region.

13. The initiative of ‘Eye in The Sky’, air surveillance along the littoral states of

Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia has reduced the incident of piracy in the

Straits of Malacca. The well coordinated patrols had resulted in the straits being

declassified as a war-risk zone by Lloyds of London. 7 These conditions had

bought tangible economic benefits and in addition, improved security along the

straits had also helped Malaysia in the promotion of its ports, such as Port Klang,

Penang Port and Tanjung Pelepas Port.

14. MAF participation in the international theater is the ‘Ops Fajar’ where the

Royal Malaysian Navy and Royal Malaysian Air Force directly involved in

operation to free the crew members of the two hijacked Malaysian International

Shipping Corporation (MISC) chemical tankers in Eden Gulf on October last

year.8 It showed the MAF were ready to act should the situation warrant it. On the

whole, the operation is seen as a stepping stone to the implementation of total

defence (HANRUH), a comprehensive defence concept comprising strategic

alliance between the armed forces and local strategic companies in dealing with

7
Najib: Malacca Straits no longer a war-risk zone, New Starits Time 10 June 2007.
8
Malaysian Armed Forces help secure release of MISC crew members, The Star, 4 Oct 2008.
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maritime issues and incident. This is in line with the National Defence Policy and

the National Military Strategy.

THE MALAYSIAN ARMED FORCES: ISSUES AND CHALLANGES

15. Few contributions towards the national interest, we are deserved to proud

with. However, the MAF must not rest on its laurels with what it has attained thus

far, but to work even harder. MAF must be a relevant force and to keep up with

improvement and innovations in sophisticated weapon systems, Command,

Control, Communication, Computer, Intelligent, Surveillance and

Reconnaissance (C4ISR), Human Capital and Training Methods that

necessitated changes in the doctrine and the art of warfare. While modernization

is a continuous and dynamic process, which the MAF will pursue commensurate

with nation affordability, the immediate challenge to the armed forces is

consolidation and integration. It is time for us to take stock of the situation in

terms of how beat MAF can fit into current ever-changing political, military and

technological environment.

16. In the modern era, the MAF would like to see the security element as an

invisible commodity which forms the basic foundation of nation-building. So often

when a nation strives for economic development, defence is neglected as it is

wrongly perceived as a non-profitable venture. To many, defence is only seen as

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important when the nation is confronted with a crisis. Today, Malaysia views

defence as part and parcel of her economic growth.

17. The King said the Security Forces had successfully created a product call

“security” if security was viewed as a production process. “Just as human beings

need air to survive, a nation must have security. Without security, it will be

difficult to improve our country’s economic development or to improve our lives”,

he added. The King said it was because there was security in Malaysia that the

country had been able to attract foreign and local investors, who also helped

promote tourism as well as economic and social development that benefited

Malaysia.9

CONCLUSION

18. The MAF will continue to contribute its effort towards national building by

providing a “safe security umbrella” as a peoples’ force. While there are

measures to actively support the government in its international relations, the

armed forces has also not lost sight of its commitment to the citizenry and will

continue to assist in nation building. We live in freedom because every

generation of Malaysian has produced patriots willing to serve a cause greater

than themselves. The future security and well-being of our country depends on

our nation’s ability to meet the evolving threats of the 21st century. For the nation

to be successful, its people must be willing to serve. It is worth the sacrifice?

Without a doubt, it is.

9
The king’s address during Warrior’s Day 31 July 1993-NST.
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19. I am fully confident that our sacrifice were always cherishing by the nation

and citizens. My civilians friend frankly spoke when I asked him about the MAF

said, “Their sacrifice (soldiers), in whatever form to safeguard the security of the

country, has contributed to the peaceful condition that we are experiencing

today”.

RECOMMENDATION

20. The most important asset in the MAF remains its human asset. Our

honourable Prime Minister, Dato’ Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, affectionately

known as “Pak Lah”, make his clear thought on development of human capital is

vital and crucial rather than material development. Soldiers regardless of his

ranks and position are responsible to ensure the high standard of his

performances, appearance, discipline and other aspects are maintained.

However, there are unhealthy sign that may relate to poor discipline. For

instance, there have been occasions of fraud and misappropriation that caught

the headlines of local dailies and news. Cases absent without leaves, misuse of

drug, theft and many others among officers and men has been tarnishing the

image of the MAF in a whole. Recently, the media has exposed ‘ragging’ issues

or misconduct of soldier under training, lead affect the image of MAF solely.

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21. To overcome the problems solidly or to change people are not easy. Here

are some recommendation that to be highlighted in order to gain and maintaining

the level of confidence towards the nation and citizen. These are:

a. The Warrior Pledge – it must be upheld and made as our way of life

and culture and carrying out our duties and responsibilities as members of

the MAF.

b. Spiritual combat power – soldiers mostly lack of the spiritual

intelligent would lead to the lower discipline. Element of combat power

such fire power, manoeuvre and morale plus element of spiritual is vital to

ensure MAF personnel are always uphold their belief to be better

preparedness, and avoid doing the wrong thing.

c. Discipline and integrity – This is the serious and critical part that

people will easily judge of our organization. The public image and

credibility of the MAF is to be enhanced and personnel are expected to

safeguard the professionalism and the discipline of the MAF under any

circumstance.

d. The military-people relations – relations with the citizenry is to be

enhanced and the MAF will continue to hold dear the principle that

“military and the people can never be separated”.

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22. Change is never-ending and happens rapidly, but it cannot happen

overnight. Commitment from officers and men are needed to meet the needs of

confidence-building toward the nation and citizens. The MAF theme “Our

Commitment, Your Confidence” must be upheld in performing our duties to the

country.

(2520 words)

BIBLIOGRAPHY

BOOKS

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1. Nordin Yusof, Dato, (1994) Honour & Sacrifice: The Malaysian Armed
Forces (Kuala Lumpur: Malaysian Armed Forces HQ).

2. Asian Defence Journal and Perajurit, (2006) Malaysian Army Maturing

Nicely, MAF Handbook 2006.

PERIODICALS AND INTERNET

1. http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST.
2. http://www.bharian.com.my/Semasa _BH.

3. M Ghazemy Mahmud, Complementary Chain of Command, Asian

Defence Journal, Jul 2005.

4. Najib: Malacca Straits no longer a war-risk zone, New Starits Time 10

June 2007.

5. Malaysian Armed Forces help secure release of MISC crew members,

The Star, 4 Oct 2008.

6. The king’s address during Warrior’s Day 31 July 1993-NST.

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