KUALA LUMPUR: Army Chief General Tan Sri Mohammad Ab Rahman has been appointed as the 22nd Armed Forces Chief, effective today.
His appointment was witnessed by Defence Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan in a pinning of ranks ceremony for the number one Defence Force post at Wisma Pertahanan here today.
He replaces General Tan Sri Affendi Buang, who will be going on leave before officially ending his service in February next year.
Affendi, born in Kuching, Sarawak, began his service with the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) in 1980.
He has served as RMAF chief since Dec 21, 2016, before being appointed as the 21st Defence Force chief on Jan 2, 2020, succeeding Gen Tan Sri Zulkifli Zainal Abidin.
Mohammad, 59, has served in the force for the last 36 years.
Hailing from Machang, Kelantan, Mohammad was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Royal Malay Regiment on July 1, 1987.
He graduated from the Royal Military College's Putra branch in 1980 before pursuing his Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science at the University of North Carolina in Charlotte, United States.
Throughout his service in the army, Mohammad has held several important positions including as commanding officer of the 23rd Battalion of the Royal Malay Regiment; commander of the 2nd Malaysian Infantry Brigade; commander of the 3rd Malaysian Infantry Division; commander of Army Training and commander of Army Western Field.
Earlier, Mohamad also witnessed the appointment of General Datuk Muhammad Hafizuddeain Jantan as the 30th army chief.
Hafizuddeain, who previously held the rank of Lieutenant-General, was promoted to General to take over the army's top leadership.
In his speech, Mohamad expressed hope that the Armed Forces would continue to show loyalty and professionalism to the new leadership.
"I also hope that the leadership, under Mohammad, will bring the Armed Forces to greater heights," he added.
Also present were Deputy Defence Minister Adly Zahari, Royal Malaysian Navy Chief Admiral Datuk Abdul Rahman Ayob and Royal Malaysian Air Force chief General Tan Sri Mohd Asghar Khan Goriman Khan.
