NOVEMBER 21 ― The Royal Signals Regiment (Rejimen Semboyan Diraja, RSD) celebrated its 62nd birthday last Saturday with a dinner at Wisma Perwira, a still-new building in Kampung Datuk Keramat which also offers clubhouse-type facilities for members and veterans of the armed forces. Regimental anniversary dinners are not the most publicised military affairs, but they are certainly important within the regiments.
The RSD is one of the 16 main corps and regiments in the Malaysian Army, responsible for establishing communications channels between the command and tactical elements during operations, as well as providing electronic support, warfare and early warning systems. They are not to be confused (as they sometimes are) with either the Royal Engineers Regiment (which support ground units through the laying of infrastructure or clearing of obstacles) or the Royal Electrical & Mechanical Engineer Corps (which maintain military vehicles and electrical equipment).
It is one of 12 corps or regiments with a “Royal” designation, meaning that one of the Malay Rulers is their Colonel-in-Chief ― in the case of the RSD, the Yang diPertuan Besar of Negeri Sembilan.
By contrast, the entirety of the Royal Malaysian Air Force has the Sultan of Pahang as its Colonel-in-Chief while the Royal Malaysian Navy has the Sultan of Selangor as its Captain-in-Chief. This practice is taken directly from British usage, where for historical reasons the army as a whole was not given a “Royal” designation (it was an army loyal to Oliver Cromwell that defeated Charles I during the English Civil War).
To civilians, the royal presence may seem merely ceremonial, but these links are taken very seriously by the generals as well as the monarchs: for it is to the crown, representing the nation, that the military have sworn their loyalty. Without such links, the armed forces would have succumbed far more severely to politicisation by now ― though for sure, several retired generals have nonetheless lamented to me the trend of what were once military prerogatives being transferred to the hands of politicians.
The RSD’s history began in 1949 when a Communications Troop was formed within the Malay Regiment in Port Dickson, and over time it acquired its own separate identity and underwent several name changes: beginning in 1952 as the Federation Brigade Signals Squadron, and later the Malaysian Signals, Pasokan Semboyan and finally Rejimen Semboyan with the addition of “Diraja” in 1992, with Tuanku Ja’afar becoming Colonel-in-Chief. Throughout, its crest featuring a sea tern remained largely unchanged, and its motto “Pantas dan Pasti” remains a direct translation from the British Royal Corps of Signals’ “Certa Cito” (“Swift and Sure”).
In previous articles, I have mentioned the surviving practices of wreath-laying and the playing of the Last Post and Reveille during memorial events, but many other British traditions endure. At the banquet table the glass of water was accompanied by a smaller glass to be used for the three toasts: to the Yang diPertuan Agong (preceded by Negaraku), the Colonel-in-Chief (preceded by his state anthem) and the regiment itself (preceded by the regimental song). This smaller glass contained water, but the brigadier-general sitting on my left recalled a time when it would have contained something else.
Three important aspects of the evening were particularly illuminating. First was a video presentation showing recent activities of the regiment, including contributions to many UN missions and engagements with the community, including at a church.
Second was the launch of a book with the same but also highlighting individual academic and sporting achievements of the regiment’s soldiers ― which include players of football, hockey, rugby, a silat and Muay Thai practitioner and a Fifa-certified referee, though those in the squash world will cite former top Malaysian player (and later internationally famous coach) Major S. Maniam who served in the RSD for 20 years.
The final aspect, at the conclusion of dinner, was the recognition given to retiring officers. Major-General Datuk Zulkiflee Mazlan spoke for all of them when he related his childhood ambitions of being a soldier and making his family proud through serving the country, moving up through the ranks after going through Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and eventually serving as Chief Signals Officer and Chairman of the Corps.
I got to know him also in his capacity as director-general of the Armed Forces Veteran Affairs Department, and he introduced me to the practice of wearing the hibiscus for Warriors’ Day. He was often emotional in his speech, which he delivered in English, and as I looked around the hall I saw the officers listening intently, not just because they are trained to be attentive and disciplined, but because they too have the same patriotic ambition he had. Among our many battered institutions in our country today, that’s a glorious find.
*This is the personal opinion of the columnist.
