The Chief of the Defence Forces (: CDF, , Jawi: ڤڠليما اڠکتن تنترا) is the professional head of the Malaysian Armed Forces and the most senior uniformed military adviser to the ''

Yang di-Pertuan Agong The Yang di-Pertuan Agong (, Jawi: ), also known as the Supreme Head of the Federation, the Paramount Ruler or simply as the Agong, and unofficially as the King of Malaysia, is the constitutional monarch and head of state of Malaysia. The o ...

'' (YDPA; 'King of Malaysia'), the

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...

and the

Minister of Defence A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in som ...

. The CDF is based at Wisma Pertahanan,

Kuala Lumpur , anthem = ''Maju dan Sejahtera'' , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , sub ...

, nearby to the Ministry of Defence. The CDF is the highest rank in Malaysia Armed Forces only after the YDPA which hold the title Commander-in-Chief. Also known as "''Perintah Ulung''" ( 'Superior Command'), the CDF is part of

Armed Forces Council The Armed Forces Council is the senior military body of the Canadian Armed Forces. It meets to advise and assist the Chief of the Defence Staff (CDS) on all matters concerning the command, control, and administration of the forces, and generally ...

together with Minister of Defence, YPDA's representative, Chief of Army, Chief of Navy, Chief of Air Force, Chief of Staff and so on. CDF can be appointed from all three branch of Malaysia Armed Force—

Malaysian Army The Malaysian Army ( ms, Tentera Darat Malaysia; Jawi: تنترا دارت مليسيا) 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 t ...

, Royal Malaysian Navy and

Royal Malaysian Air Force The Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF, ms, Tentera Udara Diraja Malaysia; TUDM; Jawi: ) 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 format ...

. The ''Panglima Angkatan Tentera'' (PAT; ) was formerly known as ''Ketua Turus Angkatan Tentera'' (KTAT; ) until in the early 1980s. The current CDF is

General A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED ...

Tan Sri The Malay language has a complex system of styles, titles and honorifics which are used extensively in Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and the southern Philippines. Brunei, Malaysia, Singapore and several provinces in Indonesia regul ...

Affendi Buang Affendi bin Haji Buang (born 21 August 1962) is a Malaysian Air Force General who serves as the 21st Chief of Defence Forces. Prior to his assignment, he previously served as the Chief of Air Force. Background He was born at Kuching, Sarawak ...

– having succeeded his predecessor, General Tan Sri

Zulkifli Zainal Abidin Zulkifli Zainal Abidin is a Malaysian general who served as the 20th Chief of Defence Forces. He served as the Chief of Army from June 14, 2011 to June 13, 2013. Background He was born in Kuala Sepetang, Perak, Malaysia on November 30, 1958 ...

on 2 January 2020.

History

The

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

governed Malaysia in its pre-independence days. Most of its military forces at that time is from

Commonwealth nations The Commonwealth of Nations, simply referred to as the Commonwealth, is a political association of 56 member states, the vast majority of which are former territories of the British Empire. The chief institutions of the organisation are the Co ...

. There is local military force such as the

Penang and Province Wellesley Volunteer Corps The Penang and Province Wellesley Volunteer Corps (Abbr.: P&PWVC), also known as Penang Volunteer Corps and Penang Volunteer Rifle was a militia unit in Malaya. It was established on 1 March 1861 and together with Singapore Volunteer Corps and Mal ...

, and other similar units created in

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...

and the other Malay States, however, it is more as a territorial army than as a federal army. The Federal Council of the Federated Malay States passed the Malay Regiment Bill on 23 January 1933. With that, the first local federal military forces, the Malay Regiment (now known as the

Royal Malay Regiment The Royal Malay Regiment ( ms, Rejimen Askar Melayu DiRaja; Jawi: ) is the premier unit of the Malaysian Army's two infantry regiments. At its largest, the Malay Regiment comprised 27 battalions. At present, three battalions are parachute train ...

) formed. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, with the Malayan Emergency conflict emerges, the Malay Regiment increased to seven battalions. One multiracial regiment and one armoured vehicle squadron also formed. With this, the regiments merged into one single federal army, thus forming the Malayan Federation Army, the

predecessor. At that time, even with combinations with other branches (Navy and Air Force), the Malayan Armed Forces were relatively small. As the chief of the biggest branch of the armed forces, the Chief of Army was at the same time elected as the chief of the entire armed forces. With Malaysia formation on 16 September 1963, North Borneo (now known as

Sabah Sabah () is a state of Malaysia located in northern Borneo, in the region of East Malaysia. Sabah borders the Malaysian state of Sarawak to the southwest and the North Kalimantan province of Indonesia to the south. The Federal Territory o ...

), Crown Colony of Sarawak (now known as

Sarawak Sarawak (; ) is a state of Malaysia. The largest among the 13 states, with an area almost equal to that of Peninsular Malaysia, Sarawak is located in northwest Borneo Island, and is bordered by the Malaysian state of Sabah to the northeast, ...

) and

military forces merged with the Malayan Armed Forces into one single force. Because of this, the Chief of Armed Forces separated from the Chief of Army for ease of administration of the larger army.

List of Chief of Defence Forces

Until 2020, 21 people had appointed as the Chief of Defence Forces, including two from Royal Malaysian Air Forces and one from Royal Malaysian Navy.

Living former Chiefs of Defence Forces

* Mohamed Hashim Mohd Ali * Yaacob Mohd Zain * Borhan Ahmad * Ismail Omar * Mohd Zahidi Zainuddin * Mohd Anwar Mohd Nor * Abdul Aziz Zainal * Azizan Ariffin *

Zulkifeli Mohd Zin Zulkifeli bin Mohd. Zin (born 14 June 1956) is the 18th and the former Chief of Defence Forces of Malaysia. Education He was educated at Sultan Ismail College (SIC) in Kelantan. In 1974, upon completion of his cadet training in Sandhurst, ...

Raja Mohamed Affandi Raja Mohamed Noor Raja Mohamed Affandi bin Raja Mohamed Noor ( Jawi: راج محمد أفندي بن راج محمد نور; born 22 June 1958) is a Malaysian senior military officer, former Chief of Army and Chief of Defence Force. Early life and education R ...

References

{{Authority control Military of Malaysia

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...