KUALA LUMPUR: The Armed Forces are set to make history by establishing a Cyber Force as its fourth service by 2030, in a strategic move to confront evolving threats in the modern security landscape.
Armed Forces chief Jen Tan Sri Malek Razak Sulaiman (pic) said the move was prompted by the fact that cyberspace and the electromagnetic domain have increasingly become arenas of competition on the global stage.
A dedicated Cyber Force Nucleus Team has been established to spearhead planning, coordination, organisational transformation and capability development.
The Defence Minister will officially launch the nucleus team in conjunction with the MAF Day Carnival 2026 at the Royal Malaysian Navy Base in Lumut on Sept 19.
“We examined models from other nations that have integrated this domain into their armed forces. This is an urgent necessity and we cannot afford to fall behind,” Jen Malek Razak said during a media session ahead of the 93rd Armed Forces Day celebration.
“The nucleus team will plan and operate the Cyber Force in line with ministry guidelines to ensure full readiness by 2030.”
Cyber capabilities, electronic warfare and spectrum management operations have already been deployed in the Exercise Camar Kilat series to yield direct operational impacts.
Meanwhile, military veteran Mejar-Jen (Rtd) Datuk Mohamad Raih Ismail said the professionalism of the Armed Forces came to the fore when it made history as the first military force from Asia to participate in a North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato) mission through the Implementation Force (Ifor) in Bosnia in 1995.
He said that during the transition from peacekeeping to Ifor, the Armed Forces relocated 1,533 personnel, along with hundreds of vehicles in heavy snowfall.
