Roslan is new air force chief

Moving up the ranks: Jen Roslan has his new shoulder boards pinned on by his wife Khairani and Jen Rodzali.

KUANTAN: Jen Datuk Seri Roslan Saad is the new Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) chief.

This follows the retirement of Jen Tan Sri Rodzali Daud yesterday.

Jen Roslan, formerly the deputy RMAF chief, assumed the post effective yesterday in a march-past ceremony to mark the end of Jen Rodzali’s service.

In his speech, Jen Rodzali said RMAF had achieved excellence in executing missions at the national and global stage in the past five years.

“Among the examples we can be proud of are the success of Ops Daulat in Sabah, the search and rescue operations for Flight MH370, Ops Piramid as well as humanitarian and disaster relief operations.

“Each success has raised the image and reputation of RMAF as well as increased the trust and confidence of the Government and people,” he said at the Kuantan air base here yesterday.

However, Jen Rodzali reminded RMAF not to be careless in the present time.

“The uncertain regional and global geostrategic situation that is ever-changing has forced us to be always vigilant.

“The unfortunate incident of MH17 taught us that inciting conflict anywhere can have a terrible impact upon us,” he said.

Jen Rodzali, 59, had served in the RMAF since 1973 and held the top post since Sept 1, 2009.

During the ceremony, Jen Roslan also received his promotion from the rank of Lt-Jen.

He had his new shoulder boards pinned on by his wife Datin Seri Khairani Mohd Zain and Jen Rodzali, before receiving the letter of duty from his predecessor.

Witnessing the ceremony was Armed Forces acting chief Jen Tan Sri Raja Mohamed Affandi Raja Mohamed Noor.

Jen Rodzali and his wife Puan Sri Asnah Din left the air base in an EC725 helicopter after the ceremony.