Non-Subscriber Extract
Interview: General Tan Sri Azizan Ariffin, Malaysian Chief of Defence Force
By Dzirhan Mahadzir
16 October 2009
General Tan Sri Azizan Ariffin (Malaysian Armed Forces)
The Malaysian Armed Forces (MAF) is in the midst of transforming itself under the Fourth Dimension MAF (4-D MAF) capability plan in order to be able to meet today's security challenges.
According to the newly appointed Malaysian Chief of Defence Force (CDF), General Tan Sri Azizan Ariffin, who took over the country's highest military appointment on 1 September and is the first Royal Malaysian Air Force officer to hold the position, the rate of transformation would be subject to the budget available.
However, Gen Tan Sri Azizan said the MAF hopes to get most of the 4-D MAF plan programmes funded under the 10th Malaysia Plan (2011-15), which governs Malaysia's financial spending for a five-year period.
Gen Tan Sri Azizan said the transformation process of the MAF will be complex and challenging, adding that the MAF has to be flexible in making changes to the plan: "We must always be responsive and dynamic because our plan may need some changes as it goes with time."
The 4-D plan covers the period until 2020 and beyond, and focuses on three main features: joint force integration and operations; information superiority; and multi-dimensional operations in the sub-surface, surface, air and information warfare media.
A significant part of the 4-D MAF capability involves the development of Malaysia's C4ISR capabilities.