MAF’s Capabilities, Professionalism Shine On International Stage - Armed Forces Veteran

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 16 (Bernama) -- The professionalism and capabilities of the Malaysian Armed Forces (MAF) came to the fore on the world stage when it made history as the first military force from Asia to participate in a North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) mission through the Implementation Force (IFOR), a peace enforcement force, in Bosnia in 1995.

MAF veteran Major General (Rtd) Datuk Mohamad Raih Ismail said that before being accepted to participate in the more challenging IFOR mission, the Malaysian contingent first underwent rigorous tests by NATO.

He said that during the transition from the peacekeeping force to IFOR, the MAF successfully relocated 1,533 personnel, along with hundreds of vehicles, including Condor armoured vehicles, in heavy snowfall and sub-zero temperatures.

“The movement, which took a month, was completed without a single accident,” he said.

He said this while sharing his experience under the topic ‘Veteran ATM: Mewarisi Kehebatan, Memperkasa Masa Hadapan’ during the Apa Khabar Malaysia programme produced by Bernama TV, here, today.

He said the achievement also attracted the attention of the British military, which was impressed as its own forces had recorded accidents and fatalities while facing extreme weather conditions.

Mohamad Raih also shared his experience of the country contingent’s participation in Operation United Shield in Somalia in 1995, which saw Task Force Malaysia deployed with two ships, KD Mahawangsa and KD Inderasakti, to protect the withdrawal mission of United Nations (UN) peacekeepers under UNOSOM II.

He said the operation was carried out alongside military forces from seven countries, including the United States, Italy and France, and was successfully completed on March 2, 1995, without any problems.

“The best experience we gained was proving that our forces could work with other foreign military forces at a very professional level,” he said.

Mohamad Raih joined the MAF in 1970 after being commissioned into the Royal Malay Regiment, and served in various roles as staff and commander at company, battalion, brigade and division levels.

He also served as assistant defence attaché in the Philippines during the People Power Revolution.

--BERNAMA