PETALING JAYA: Deputy Army chief Leftenan-Jeneral Datuk Tengku Muhammad Fauzi Tengku Ibrahim has been appointed as the the Malaysian Joint Forces Headquarters Joint Forces commander.
He replaces Leftenan-Jeneral Datuk Zahani Zainal Abidin, who has been appointed as chief executive officer of the Malaysian Institute of Defence and Security (MiDAS).
The handover ceremony was held at Wisma Pertahanan here on Friday (Feb 6), marking the official transition of command of the Armed Forces’ joint operations headquarters.
Tengku Muhammad Fauzi will lead the Joint Forces Headquarters, which is responsible for coordinating domestic and international operations and exercises involving the Army, Navy and Air Force.
Zahani, meanwhile, assumes his new role at MiDAS following his tenure as the 15th Joint Forces commander.
Both appointments took effect on Jan 1 and were made based on the recommendation of the 632nd Armed Forces Council meeting held on Jan 7, and subsequently received the consent of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong on Jan 18.
Born on Jan 30, 1970, in Kuala Terengganu, Tengku Muhammad Fauzi began his military career at the Royal Military College in 1988 before undergoing officer cadet training at the Singapore Armed Forces Training Institute.
Commissioned into the Royal Malay Regiment on June 6, 1990, he has held several key positions throughout nearly four decades of service, including commanding officer of the First Battalion Royal Malay Regiment, commander of the 10th Parachute Brigade, commander of the 3rd Division, Army Training and Doctrine commander, Western Field Army commander and Army deputy chief.
He also has extensive experience in international peacekeeping missions, including service in Bosnia-Herzegovina under NATO, and has participated in numerous joint military exercises with foreign armed forces. He previously served as an instructor at the Royal Military College Duntroon in Australia.
Academically, Tengku Muhammad Fauzi has attended professional military courses at the United States Army Command and General Staff College in Fort Leavenworth, the Indonesian National Army Staff and Command School, and the Royal College of Defence Studies in the United Kingdom. He is also an alumnus of Harvard Business School.
The ceremony was witnessed by Jeneral Datuk Malek Razak Sulaiman and attended by service chiefs and senior officers of the Armed Forces.
