PALAPES Cadets Exempted From Several Tests For Regular Force Entry

ARAU, Sept 3 (Bernama) -- Active Reserve Officer Training Unit (PALAPES) cadets will be exempted from several tests during the selection process for entry into the regular force through the Graduate Cadet Officer training programme, beginning this year.

Defence Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin said the exemption is in line with Armed Forces Council Order Series 9/2025.

“This includes the General Knowledge Test, Intelligence Test, Leadership and Planning Test, and Public Speaking Test,” he said in his keynote address at the Defence Minister’s Executive Lecture Programme with PALAPES cadets from public universities at Universiti Malaysia Perlis (UniMAP) here today.

Also present was Chief of Defence Force Gen Tan Sri Malek Razak Sulaiman.

Mohamed Khaled said PALAPES graduates may also apply for Full-Time Service to fill designated positions at Malaysian Armed Forces (MAF) units, ships, bases and formations, with their existing rank and length of service taken into account, subject to the stipulated conditions, should they be absorbed into the regular force.

Meanwhile, the ministry is proposing legislative amendments to allow PALAPES graduates whose commissions have expired but who wish to return to service in the Volunteer Force to do so without having to be recommissioned.

“This proposed amendment is currently awaiting approval. If approved, the officers concerned will only need to undergo the process of extending their commissions in accordance with the Armed Forces Act 1972,” Mohamed Khaled said.

He said the Officer Voluntary Enrollment and Reporting Workspace Across Three Command Hubs (OVERWATCH) system has also been developed to enable the placement, service status and participation of young PALAPES graduate officers to be monitored more systematically after they are commissioned.

“Through this system, virtual reporting has been introduced to enable PALAPES graduates from public universities serving as young volunteer officers to plan their placement and report for duty at Volunteer Force units near their homes, workplaces or places of study,” he said.

Mohamed Khaled said the ministry will also conduct a review to improve incentives for PALAPES cadets, covering the Local Training Attendance Allowance, Annual Bounty and Specialist Allowance.

He said the MAF is also studying a proposal to allow PALAPES cadets to undergo industrial training at regular force units and formations to expose them to the actual working environment and encourage greater interest in continuing their service after being commissioned.

At the programme, Mohamed Khaled also witnessed the signing of a Memorandum of Cooperation between the Malaysian Army and the Higher Education Ministry by Army chief Gen Tan Sri Azhan Md Othman and Higher Education director-general Capt (Honorary) Datuk Prof Dr Azlinda Azman.

-- BERNAMA