SAMARAHAN: A total of 43 cadet officers of the reserve officer training unit (PALAPES) from five public universities have been commissioned as officers in the Territorial Army Regiment.
All cadets are students from Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS), Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS), Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), Universiti Kebangsaaan Malaysia (UKM) and Universiti Pertahanan Nasional Malaysia (UPNM).
They were commissioned at the 39th PALAPES Army Cadet Officer Rank Declaration and Application Ceremony for Sarawak and Sabah Zone at Dewan Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra (DeTAR PUTRA), UNIMAS on Saturday (Jan 22).
Army chief General Tan Sri Datuk Zamrose Mohd Zain officiated at the ceremony and, together with East Field Command chief Lt-Gen Datuk Mardzuki Muhammad, presented the officer ranks to the cadets.
Apart from that, the ceremony also saw two cadets, 2nd Lt Mohamad Nur Syahid Mohd Rozaidi (UNIMAS) and 2nd Lt Hanif Fikri Peter (UMS), being awarded as Best Cadets.
“These cadets completed their officer training in 2020 throughout their three years of studies in their respective universities.
“Their training focused on the physical, military, command and control and their spiritual aspects to ensure they are skilled young officers in the regiment,” said Zamrose, during a press conference after the ceremony.
He pointed out that the army was in the process of targeting the one-to-one ratio of volunteer personnel with its permanent force by 2025, in line with the 12th Malaysia Plan (12MP) and the Army 4Next Generation (Army 4NextG).
Hence, he added the need for additional volunteer personnel will be a priority to ensure the augment concept of the armed force can be implemented.
“After this, whether these young officers work in the private or government sectors, we encourage them to report themselves to nearby Territorial Army Regiment camps.
“This is so that they can also contribute their service when the country is in crisis, for example, helping out with flood disasters, providing assistance to the main forces on the ground,” added Zamrose.
Besides that, he said the army was welcomed university students to join the service as cadet officers.
“The army still open to those in university who want to join the force as cadet officers regardless of race or religion, as well as to become individuals who contribute in serving and defending the nation,” he said.
Also present at the ceremony were UNIMAS Vice Chancellor Datuk Dr Mohamad Kadim Suaidi and UMS Senior Lecturer Dr Lee Kuok Tiung.
