The Royal Ranger Regiment (; RRD) is an infantry regiment of the Malaysian Army. Although it is second in seniority to the Royal Malay Regiment (; RAMD), the RRD can trace its origins back to the mid 19th century and the establishment of The Sarawak Rangers, the peacekeeping force in the Sarawak region. This force was absorbed by the Sarawak Constabulary in 1932, but the name was revived in 1941 as a British Colonial unit; this unit commanded by British lieutenant colonel C.M. LaneThe Battle for Miri and Sarawak, Borneo, WW IIBattle of Borneo (1941–42) was captured by the Japanese in 1942.
History In 1948, at the beginning of the Malayan Emergency, groups of Iban trackers were recruited to help in the defence against the Communist Party of Malaya. These Iban trackers were organised into a regimental formation as the Sarawak Rangers in 1953. Prior to 1963, they were attached as scouts to many British units serving in Malaya. One of the trackers, Awang anak Rawang was awarded the George Cross on 20 November 1951, during his attachment to the Worcestershire Regiment.
In 1963, following the formation of Malaysia on 16 September of that year, the unit was transferred from the British Colonial Forces to the new Malaysian ArmyBritish & Commonwealth Units and expanded into a multi-battalion, multi-ethnic regiment named . This became the in 1971, before being given the 'Royal' prefix and hence known as the ('Royal Ranger Regiment') in 1992.
On 28 September 2013, Royal Ranger Regiment celebrated its Golden Jubilee.
Present
The RRD is organised in the same way as the RAMD and currently consists of ten battalions. The 1st to 6th, and the 9th and 10th are light infantry battalions. In 1995, the 11th Rangers was dissolved due to the restructuring of the armed forces by year 2000.
The 7th Ranger Battalion is a mechanised infantry battalion and is equipped with tracked ACV 300 Adnan IFVs, some of which are armed with Bushmaster 25 mm guns.
The 8th Ranger Battalion (Parachute) is one of the four airborne infantry battalions of the 10th Parachute Brigade – the military element in Malaysian Rapid Deployment Force.
Colonel in Chief Tuanku Syed Sirajudin Ibni Almarhum Tuanku Syed Putra Jamalullail, the former king of Malaysia (), and the reigning Raja of Perlis, is the colonel in chief of the regiment.
The current chairman of the corps is Lieutenant General Dato' Mohd Zaki bin Hj. Mokhtar.
Customs and traditions
Hackle Rejimen Renjer DiRaja is the only regiment or corps in the Malaysian Army that is authorised to wear the black hackle as part of their uniform. Also, unlike other units, the No.3 uniform (office duty) has black buttons and Gun Metal pips instead of the standard green buttons and pips of the Malaysian Army.
A Ranger – A Special Malaysian Soldier Unlike in other units of the Malaysian Army, a private-rank soldier in the Rangers battalion is addressed as 'Ranger.' In the Grup Gerak Khas, a commando formation, a private is addressed as Trooper as well as in the Royal Armoured Corps. In the Royal Engineers Regiment, a private is known as Sapper, while in the Royal Artillery Regiments a private is addressed as Gunner. For the rest of the Malaysian Army, a private-rank soldier is addressed as Private.
Motto The motto of the Ranger Regiment is . A direct translation, word for word from Iban to English is "Still Alive, Still Fight." In spirit the motto means "Fight to the Death." It is conjectured that the motto was derived from Brooke family's Latin motto, which means "While I Breathe, I Hope." In this light, could mean "While I Breathe, I fight." was the state motto for the Kingdom of Sarawak. In the other, according to the Journal of 1st Ranger Regiment, the motto was derived from "Whilst There Is Life, There Is Fight", also noted as Brooke's family motto.
Others attributed the motto to that of Libau, also known as Rentap (means Shaker of the world), the legendary Iban Headhunter of Brooke era. Rentap's battle cry was "Agi Idup, Agi Ngelaban!" which means "I will fight as long as I will live".Sarikei The Royal Ranger Regiment is the only corps of the Malaysian Armed Forces using this motto in the Iban language.
Sarawak Dayak, Pribumi influence & achievement As an infantry regiment whose recruits are drawn from every race and pribumi (native) group of Malaysia, Rejimen Renjer Malaysia is rich with cultural heritage. The "Ngajat", the Iban Warrior Dance of the Sarawak Dayak community is now part of the regimental drill used to welcome visiting dignitaries. The adoption of this warrior dance as part of the regimental culture is due to the fact that this reincarnated unit of the Sarawak Rangers was once almost exclusively filled in the ranks by soldiers hailing from the Iban ethnicity in the state of Sarawak, majority Christian.
Col. (R) Dunstan Nyaring Angking of 1 Renjer was the first native Iban officer to attain the rank of full colonel in the Malaysian army. He served with 1 Renjer during the Indonesian confrontation and was the ensign that received on behalf of his battalion, the battalion's Truncheon. The Truncheon was presented by the first post-independence Governor of Sarawak, Tun Abang Haji Openg Bin Abang Sapi'ee on 19 November 1966 in Lundu, First Division, Sarawak. In his address to the battalion, he had this to say amongst other things: "This TRUNCHEON which is presented to you is an emblem from the State Government. It is also a mark of appreciation of the Government and the people of Sarawak for your services to the country and for the worthy upholding of the best tradition of our people. This a great honour earned through your conduct, bearing and bravery in battle every-where you are called upon to serve".
Currently, Brigadier General Datuk Stephen Mundaw from Pakit, Sri Aman, Sarawak, is the only known highest native Iban officer serving the Malaysian Army as a brigadier general. On 1 November 2010, he became the first native Iban officer to be appointed as brigadier general. Apart from that, another known Dayak officer is Lt. Col. Jimbai Bunsu PBK, currently a 2nd I/C of the 1st Bn/511th Regiment TA based in Kuching.
The other well-known native Iban officers are Lt. Col. (R) Robert Rizal Abdullah @ Robert Madang PGB PBK from Lachau, Sri Aman and Lt. Col.(R) James Tomlow ak Isa and Lt. Col. (R) Linus Lunsong Janti, who later became first Iban to command 22nd Commando Regiment.
A known Malay officer from Sarawak to have commanded the Ranger regiment as commanding officer, were Lt. Col (R) Abang Hamdan Bin Abang Hadari and Lt Col (R) Abang Mohd Ali Badren Bin Abang Willie (9 RRD). Another Sarawakian Malay officer, Capt. (R) Ahmad Johan, later became well known businessman and now known as Tan Sri Ahmad Johan, Chairman of National Aerospace and Defense Industries Sdn.Bhd (NADI).
Battalions of The Royal Malaysian Rangers
1st Rangers Following the terms of the Defence Agreement, Britain had agreed to raise, train and maintain one infantry battalion, each from the new states of Sabah and Sarawak. HQ Malaya Command Ranger Group was formed and headed by Colonel I.G. Wellstead to co-ordinate and implement this clause of the agreement.
The First Battalion Malaysian Rangers was formed on Malaysia Day, 16 September 1963 at Baird Camp, Ulu Tiram, Johor – the same camp occupied by the Sarawak Rangers, disbanded the day before, 15 September. Lt. Col E. Gopsill OBE, DSO, MC of the 7th Gurkha Rifles was appointed the commanding officer and the new battalion of around 100, all formerly servicemen of the Sarawak Rangers, was under the overall command of the Malaysian Army. Amongst the personnel that would be a part of the new regiment was Lt. James Tomlow ak Isa, who was originally granted a Governor's Commission in the Sarawak Rangers and was subsequently granted a regular commission as an army officer by HM the king of Malaysia, Syed Putra of Perlis.
In October 1963, the nucleus of the battalion moved out of Baird Camp to Kandy Lines, Trg Depot BDE of Gurkhas at Sungai Petani to prepare and conduct recruit training and continuity training for the new intakes. The recruits went through about four months of basic individual training followed by another two months continuity training.
Initially, this British Colonial battalion was almost exclusively composed of Sea Dayak soldiers, veterans of the Sarawak Rangers and a small number of Malay and Indian officers.
The 1st Battalion is the premier battalion and remains the icon of the Royal Ranger Regiment. Prior to the formation of Malaysia in 1963, the Sarawak Rangers gained their fearsome reputation during the Malayan Emergency. Concurrently, during the post-colonial reconstruction era, the 1st Battalion fought on extensively against the Communist Party of Malaya (CPM), Clandestine Communist Organization (CCO) the military arm of the Sarawak United People's Party (SUPPNorth Kalimantan Communist Party) and its affiliate the Pasukan Rakyat Kalimantan Utara (PARAKU, the armed wing of the North Kalimantan People's ArmyIndonesia–Malaysia confrontation) and elements of the Indonesian National Armed Fprces (TNI). Accounts from captured Communist Terrorists (CTs) in the '60s and '70s suggest that other than the (British Royal Marines) commandos, the CPM feared the deployment of the 1st Battalion Royal Rangers in the immediate vicinity. The Rangers also saw action at the Malaysian-Thai borderMALAYSIAN RANGERS, OPERATING IN THE MALAYA-THAILAND BORDER REGION, LEAP FROM A RAAF 5 SQUADRON BELL IROQUOIS UH-1H HELICOPTER (A2-385) AS IT TOUCHES DOWN IN A JUNGLE CLEARING. THESE MALAYSIAN RANGERS ARE ETHNIC IBANS, FROM SARAWAK, BORNEO. (PHOTOGRAPHER: W. SMITHER)Rangers in Southern Thailand
The 1st Battalion remains an active unit of the Malaysian armed forces, although rather inexplicably, the recruitment of Iban stock has been gradually declined significantly over the last 20 years. Consequently, its racial composition is about the same as other Malaysian infantry battalions.
It is worth noting that in the 1950s and 1960s, the British SAS were taught jungle tracking by Iban soldiers. The Ibans from the jungles of Borneo are particularly suited to jungle warfare, serving as jungle trackers for many Commonwealth battalions.Iban Trackers with 1 Royal Australian RegimentIban Scout attached to 10 Platoon, 'D' Company, 1st Battalion Worcestershire Regiment Surviving and living off the land are just daily routines to these jungle soldiers. During the Malayan Emergency, Iban trackers from the previous Malayan Scouts were attached to and served in several SAS units.
The 1st Rangers was previously based in Camp Ulu Tiram, Johor Bahru, Johor. It is now based in Kuala Lumpur. This was done by switching its status to 6th Rangers. This was done by transferring 100 soldiers from the 1st Rangers in Ulu Tiram to 6th Rangers in Kuala Lumpur and vice versa. 6th Rangers which was in Kuala Lumpur has now become 1st Rangers and the 1st Rangers which was in Ulu Tiram has now become 6th Rangers. Their records were also moved.
On 14 December 2020, the 1st Battalion Royal Rangers (Sarawak), the seniormost battalion, became the second Foot Guards Battalion of the regular ranks of the Malaysian Army. This status of Foot Guards makes this battalion prepared for the performance of ceremonial public duties in the federal capital city.
2nd Rangers The motto of this battalion is in the Coastal Kadazan dialect of the Dusun language: 'Osiou Oh Kamanang' (Who Dares Wins). This battalion is currently based in Syed Putra Camp, Ipoh, Perak. Syed Putra Camp was previously known as Sulva Lines Camp, and has been always regarded as 'Home of the Rangers'.
3rd Rangers