SHAH ALAM: Back in 2016, the-then Prime Minister DS Najib Razak stood up the National Special Operations Force (NSOF) to act as the primary response unit for terrorist incidents. Two years later the new government then – led by Tun Mahathir Mohamad – disbanded NSOF.
With the disbandment of NSOF, the primary responder to such incident reverted to the Royal Malaysian Police’s Unit Tindakan Khas/VAT 69. Malaysian Defence had posted on the disbandment, but it was taken offline on the request of several people.
The story of the disbandment is still available on Shephard Media though.
In January 2019, the then Chief of Defence Forces General Zukifli Zainal Abidin announced a new joint special operations unit -comprising of the services SF units – will be created to counter terrorist threats. The unit is now designated the Defence Special Operations Division (DOSD) which comes under the direct command of the CDF and will be deployed to back up the police’s primary counter terrorist units. DOSD first commander is now the commander of the GGK, Maj General Suhaimi Mat Wajab, who took over as the top commando on May 10.
Anyhow, the Eastern Sabah Security Command (ESSCOM) has a joint special operations unit which comprised operators from the military, police, and coast guard. According to a release by ESSCOM, its joint special operations unit came from the RMN Paskal, the police’s VAT 69, GOF Tiger Platoon, UTK, Marine Police’s Ungerin and Special Task Force and Rescue Team (STAR) from MMEA.
The release from ESSCOM:
LATIH AMAL ESSCOM PERKUKUH KOORDINASI PASUKAN KHAS PELBAGAI AGENSI DI ESS ZONE
Komander Eastern Sabah Security Command (ESSCOM), YDH DCP Datuk Victor B Sanjos menyempurnakan Amali Akhir Latihan Dalam Perkhidmatan (LDP) Pasukan Khas ESSCOM Bersama-sama Pasukan Elit dan Khusus Agensi Keselamatan di Zon Selamat Sabah Timur (ESS Zone) petang tadi di Markas Operasi Pasukan Polis Marin (PPM), Lahad Datu.
Buat julung kalinya, penganjuran latihan ini bertujuan mengkoordinasi Operasi Khas yang menggabungkan kepakaran, kesefahaman dan sinergi Pasukan-pasukan Elit atau Khusus daripada pelbagai agensi terdiri daripada Polis Diraja Malaysia (PDRM), Angkatan Tentera Malaysia (ATM) dan Agensi Penguatkuasaan Maritim Malaysia (APMM) bagi menghadapi sebarang bentuk ancaman di ESS Zone.
Dalam siri ini sebanyak enam agensi keselamatan di ESS Zone telah terlibat menjayakan LDP ini iaitu Pasukan Khas Laut (PASKAL) daripada Tentera Laut Diraja Malaysia, 69 Komando, Unit Tindakhas (UTK), Tiger Platoon Pasukan Gerakan Am (PGA), Unit Gempur Marin (UNGERIN) Pasukan Polis Marin Wilayah 4, Ibu Pejabat Polis Daerah Lahad Datu daripada PDRM dan Special Task Force and Rescue Team (STAR) APMM.
Kemuncak LDP yang bermula pada 23 Jun hingga 1 Julai 2024 ini ialah latih amal akhir berkonsepkan operasi khas dalam keadaan sebenar dilaksanakan di kawasan koloni setinggan sekitar Lahad Datu. Komander ESSCOM dalam kenyataan beliau menzahirkan penghargaan dan ucapan tahniah kepada Pasukan Khas, Perisikan dan Keselamatan ESSCOM atas kejayaan mengkoordinasi latihan tersebut dan berhasrat untuk memperluas penyertaan LDP ini kepada Jabatan dan agensi keselamatan serta penguatkuasaan yang lain.
Hadir sama Timbalan Komander ESSCOM, Brigadier Jeneral Mohamad Ismail bin Kamarudin, Ketua Staf Pasukan Khas, SAC Mohd Nasaruddin bin M. Nasir dan Pegawai-pegawai Kanan ESSCOM, PASKAL, UTK, VAT69, UNGERIN, Tiger Platoon, IPD dan STAR.
The release did not mention GGK but two officers with the familiar GGK beret were also photographed in an exercise conducted by ESSCOM which started on June 23 and ends on July 1. Perhaps, the GGK operators are not directly subordinated to ESSCOM but with the Joint Operations Headquarters 2 based in Tawau. Or they were left out by mistake. Posted below are the patches of the operators and their units involved in the ESSCOM exercise.
— Malaysian Defence
Interesting that one of the GGK operator wearing the old Harimau Belang camo
Of all the Malaysian Special Force, which is the Tier One or most elite? GGK or Paskal?
Its hard to say really as GGK has several units which specialised in various thing, CT, CI and water borne insertion. Paskal is a waterborne team. Its the same with VAT 69 which do CT, CI and water borne insertion.
So technically, GGK and VAT 69, CI and CT units are tier one teams. Paskal is a tier one waterborne insertion team.
Tom Tom,
Is there even such a thing as “most elite”? Different units do different things.
No one from PASKAU?
Nope
Paskau
Maybe next exercise Esscom needs laser guided bombs, then Paskau comes in.
With so many SOFs I wonder what differentiate their abilities to be differently tiered? Exclude the specialized tasks ie underwater warfare, & guiding laser bombs, majority has trained for CI & CT, so in these tasks what differentiates one SOF from another and if its just a matter of training harshness & suitability of personnel (ie if some are looser while Tier One are Ironman level), then what is stopping the so called looser teams from adopting the more harsh training & vetting regime so that they are better prepared for worst scenarios?
I do understand equipment (or lack of) do have an impact in terms of team effectiveness in certain tasks but the human factor should be more easily achieved.
nimitz –
‘Paskau
Maybe next exercise Esscom needs laser guided bombs, then Paskau comes in.’
Errr how did you come up with this conclusion? This doesn’t concern the Air Force.
”With so many SOFs I wonder what differentiate their abilities to be differently tiered?”
I don’t even know if they’re really ”tiered”. Sure there’s a distinction between military and non military units and a slight distinction between SF and SOF but ”tiered” military SF units?
”then what is stopping the so called looser teams from adopting the more harsh training & vetting regime so that they are better prepared for worst scenarios?’
Nothing. We also have to note however that if the “so called looser teams” had a “harsh training & vetting regime”; in other words being more selective; gaining the numbers needed would be major issue. As it is there is a major difference between on paper authorised strength and actual strength.Thank