SHAH ALAM: If you are in the Wataniah, please take note, the Army wants you to report to your respective unit within this fortnight.
The notice for the mobilisation training was announced by the Army, late yesterday.
The release of the mobilisation:
Basically, it states that the Wataniah (Territorial Army) is conducting a mobilisation training, from May 1, 2017 to May 14, 2017. All officers and soldiers of the Wataniah are to report to their respective units ASAP.
They can contact the numbers listed in the release for further inquiries.
One has to wonder why the announcement was made yesterday as this could have been done well ahead of the training dates.
By the way, I am posting the notice for mobilisation as this is quite unusual.
Although unusual, I am guessing that this is more likely to do with a gathering of the Wataniah with the Prime Minister later this month than anything else.
— Malaysian Defence
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What are the modes of mobilisation for Wataniah members (public notice, radio/tv annoucements, directly contacting members by phone)? Since Marhalim said the notice was unusual, I am assuming that other methods were more popular in the past.
And what are the typical response times and targets for members to report to their units?
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I have no exact details of how Wataniah contact their soldiers but when my BIL was drafted into the unit after he quit the Army after 10 years of service, he got training and mobilisation orders by mail. He only went for a few of them, on weekends. His mandatory time in Wataniah was two years. After that time he continued to receive the orders by mail for a year or so which stopped after he didn’t report to his unit.
Normal the top brass wants to know within short notice can they mobilized full batallion size in all areas…they will fine tune everything if it fails drastically…just throw the stone and see where it leads to.
Time is not critical in a country where public transport is still inefficient…plus are the employer willing to let them go on mobilization call…wat ar the incentive for them if they do attend the mobilization call…dont compare malaysia to singapore its like comparing the earth n the sky…
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We cannot compare as Wataniah is completely different to Singapore NS. It is completely voluntary. Even after undergoing training and absorbed into the Wataniah, if one failed to attend training and other things no action will be taken. If a Wataniah failed to report to his or her unit after a certain time, his or her name will be struck out from the rolls without any further action.
We should distinguish between scheduled training, and mobilisation/alerts.
In the case of scheduled training, it is possible to send the reporting orders by mail. Orders are sent months in advance, which is all the more important where attendance is voluntary.
In this case mentioned by Marhalim, the objective is to test response times and rates more than anything else. The leaders get valuable experience arranging the whole thing, but there is no training per se for the rank and file.
Where is their gathering point?technical mobilization or just head count mob?
If its a technical mob..it is best to round them up at the nearest balai pertemuan then later transport them to their respective camp…boy or boy its going to be messy if the logistic n transportation is not handled by capable n experience logistician…n etc etc
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I have not gotten an answer on the notice. I am assuming its just a head count
Mobilisation means report to the respective camp of each wataniah formation. The wataniah formations are all localised according to geographical locations n the type of services. For instance, artillery wataniahs recruit from around Kajang, communications around Taiping. Kl there is a camp along Jln Ampang. It’s an infantry set up. So think local. No issues with gathering point n transport. Once mobilised, if they are required to move, transport would be provided by the transport corp or the transport pool of the wataniah unit. Each wataniah unit has integrated transport using those trucks handed down by the regulars. Similarly, the armaments
Lets talk about the wataniah army”territorial army” i assume.to my opinion these are the units that is doing the 2nd line defence..they are littered at important coastal part of the country, dig in either foxhole or selfscrape n prevent the enemy from beach landing.
These are the pple who will be posted to the country border in battallion size in case of “emergency”.
So im hoping these wataniah are given the best tools available not just hand me down items rejected by the main stream army boys.
They need the adnan or gempita for transport,protection for border duties n indirect fire support during uncertainties in their coastal defence formation.
Actually lots need to be done on the wataniah..in order to lure more professional……lots to be say n done to these wataniah
@ Redsot
I 1st saw the mobilisation notice on 28/4/17, during 8 o’clock news.
Usually the gathering point is their respective wataniah camps (yes most of them have their own camps).
And what is all this babblling about the “coastal defence” task of wataniah’s? No army is just gonna wait in foxholes for the enemy in peacetime. If there is indeed an “emergency” and enemy is to do a beach landing, those on the front would be mainly the regular forces, not wataniah’s. As for the borders, the army now has dedicated Rejimen Sempadan for that.
During most of the latest army exercises, now almost always involve some kind of wataniah participation, usually in company size.
The wataniahs form a very important part of the malaysian armed forces in protecting the nation. During the emergencies the wataniahs have been called up for active duty. Those called up are sent first of all to the PLAW (Pusat Latihan Asjar Wataniah) at Jln Tambun , Ipoh for training to refresh on tactics n physical conditionning. Those called up also undergoes an annual LUTAK training( Latihan Ulang Kaji Tahunan). The commandant of PLAW at one time was a PGB winner, Col. Ghouse. The chief trainer of the LUTAK wing is a Commando officer no less. Those called forms what is now the Border Division. They form the main barrier against the communist terrorist infiltration from Thailand into Malaysia. Firefights are a regular occurance for them. In a firefight a wataniah won the PGB when he single handedly shot dead several CT’s until help arrived. The rest of his patrol were either killed or injured.
These wataniahs can form a fighting force in battle to supplement the regular force during times of war
According to some..as a wataniah they were called only 2 or 3 times which differs from some asean country which utilises their so call reserve regiment for 7 continuous years…just a brief run thru during those 7 years battle formation are being practice…familiarization of section weapons are being train repeatedly…if the regiment falls into 2 group expeditionary group or homeland defence… Homeland defence is where each battalion are being given strategic sector to be defended…they will dig in foxhole etc etc n deny beach landing…well i guess beach landing is no more in MAF vocabulary. Wataniah is draining taxpayer money with little return…border regiment is just another name for infantry doing patroling along malasia border…anything new?Yes but with little bang for the buck….my guess ha capitan
to much babbling… in the future waring time, let see… whos infront.. and whos far behind…
The wataniahs form a very important part of the malaysian armed forces in protecting the nation…..agreed that is why in my rambling they ought to be given a bigger role.
As far as my not expert observation….the wataniah…infantry…border regiment..PLKN….their existence is quite similar to having marine police…malasia coast guard…navy….having too many agencies but doing similar things or doing overlapping duties…correct me if im wrong.
These agencies all cost taxpayers monies..n little wonder as to why the MAF until now is unable to buy hardware that is most needed.
Wrong people. The Wataniahs play a very important role for the nation. It acts as a reserve for the nation. For the role that it plays the financial resouces used indeed is very small. These volunteers dont draw a salary. Only an allowance n only if they attend training. The wataniah are well set up. There are two lines of training. They have a Reserve Officers Training Unit to train officer cadets in the local unis. The training they get is good n includes battle inoculation. Then prople of other walks in life can also go for training if selected to the PD officer course.
The wataniah set up is just like the regular set up . They have support arms n infantry arm. However there are certain units thats set up for strategic n tactical reasons . These are the waterworks, Telecoms n Railway Battalions. These recruit only from within each companies. They play an important role manning these important infra of the country n they also protect these places from sabotage during the confrontation days.
Then there are the fighting branch. These serves to bolster the infantry branch of the armed forces during combat or as a replacement for casualties
So they are a reserve for the country. A strategic force so i must say
I think the point Lee is making is to distinguish the infantry reservists (in the Regiment Askar Wataniah) from the reservists in the non-infantry battalions.
Indeed the resources given to them are not great, in terms of assets and training funds. As much as we would like them to “bolster the infantry branch of the armed forces during combat or as a replacement for casualties,” they are just not up to facing the high intensity threats we are facing nowadays. I don’t care what criticism I get for saying this, these capabilities don’t come out of nowhere. It is only natural considering the investments given, and is not a reflection of their true potential.
However they can serve usefully in border patrol in peace time, and static defence and rear area security in times of war.
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To get Askar Wataniah to the same standard as the regulars, is simple, just make them regulars. But that defeat the purpose of Wataniah.
There is no issue if the Wataniah infantry are useful mainly for “static defence and rear area security” roles. Because in a high or low intensity conflict, any army will have need for such units. Given our resource constraints, it would be silly to prepare 100% of our infantry for the full spectrum of missions.
Likewise, every army has its rationale for maintaining reservist units in the various combat, combat support and CSS arms.
“To get Askar Wataniah to the same standard as the regulars, is simple, just make them regulars. But that defeat the purpose of Wataniah.”
Actually the peacetime “standard” of any reservists depends on the level of training one invests. The higher the “standard,” the less warning time you need to train them up to full readiness. If you think you will have the luxury of long warning time, you can maintain units at lower readiness and conduct additional training to raise that standard when you believe the situation warrants it.