Royal Military College (Malaysia) - Organisation and Rank

Organisation and Rank

All Companies have four senior rankholders and five junior rankholders.

Every Company is led by one Senior Under Officer (SUO) and assisted by three Junior Under Officers (JUOs), who are fourth year Puteras appointed by the College administration. The terms SUO and JUO are a throwback to the traditions of the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst, where such titles are still in use today for senior rankholders. Fourth year Puteras who are not rankholders are entitled to be referred to as Senior Puteras (SP).

The SUO is responsible for all aspects of the Puteras under his command, and is the highest ranking Putera in the Company. The three JUOs, covering the General, Administration and Quartering billets of the Company, are equal in terms of rank and assist the SUO in the running of the Company on a day-to-day basis. All Under Officers are entitled to a private bunk each, and SUO's are also entitled to have their meals at the High Table in the Mess Hall.

SUO's lead their Company at all Parades and are the main liaisons between the military administration and the Puteras under his care. SUOs and JUOs are also subject to the authority of the Company's commissioned officers and instructors, and play a role in the selection of junior rankholders.

Rank is denoted by slip-on shoulder epaulettes and is worn on all uniforms except the Mosque Order (traditional Malay dress) and the Planters' Order (formal blazer and College tie dress). Prior to 1997, these slip-on epaulettes were only worn by the senior and junior rankholders, and its use was accompanied by a metallic shoulder title, bearing the name Maktab Tentera Diraja underneath the rank insignia on the epaulette.

In 1997, this rank insignia structure was amended to bring it in line with the Officer Cadet rank insignia in use at the Army College (KTD, Kolej Tentera Darat) and the then-newly established Malaysian Armed Forces Academy (ATMA, Akademi Angkatan Tentera Malaysia). The main difference between an Officer Cadet rank insignia and the Putera rank insignia is the color of the insignia; the bars, knots and chevrons on an Officer Cadet rank are white in color, while the same on a Putera rank is royal yellow in color.

An SUO's rank insignia consists of four horizontal bars (one bar for each year of study at the College) with an Austrian knot and chevron pointing upwards underneath the knot, on a dark green epaulette.

A JUO's rank insignia is identical to the SUO's, except that there is no chevron underneath the Austrian knot.

The letters MTD (acronym of the College's Malay name, Maktab Tentera Diraja) are also emblazoned in royal yellow at the bottom edge of the epaulette for both ranks.

Junior rankholders on the other hand are understudies for the senior rankholder posts and are invested with similar authority with senior rankholders. Nevertheless, all actions of junior rankholders are subject to review by the senior rankholders and the College administration.

Putera Sergeants (P/SGT) are normally appointed from the third year Puteras in the first quarter of the academic year, and they are further promoted to Acting Senior Under Officer (A/SUO) and Acting Junior Under Officer (A/JUO) ranks by the third quarter of the academic year to allow for the gradual takeover of the Company from the graduating seniors.

A P/SGT's rank insignia consists of three horizontal bars and three chevrons pointing downwards. An A/SUO's rank insignia consists of three horizontal bars and a bright red Austrian knot and chevron pointing upwards underneath the knot. An A/JUO's rank insignia is identical to the A/SUO's, except that there is no chevron underneath the Austrian knot. The letters MTD (acronym of the College's Malay name, Maktab Tentera Diraja) are in royal yellow at the bottom edge of the epaulette for all three ranks.

P/SGTs, A/SUOs and A/JUOs are not entitled to any privileges accorded to the senior rankholders.

As of 2009, new epaulette were introduced for the Puteras following the changes in intakes from Form 2 to Form 4 in the year 2006. The first year Puteras (or New boys) initially wears a pair of epaulettes having only one yellow horizontal bar above the MTD acronym. Later on, some of the Puteras who are promoted to A.P/SGT wears a pair of epaulettes consists of one red horizontal bar above the MTD acronym and three red chevrons pointing downwards. The A.P/SGT are the Puteras that will take up the senior ranks of the Company in the following year.

Commandant Boy:

2009:SUO Muhammad Al-Ash bin Khalid (Delta)

2010:SUO Abdul Aziz bin Asmuni (Alpha)

2011:SUO Chan Jun Kwan (Alpha)

2012:SUO Muhd. Nazmi bin Nizarimi (Alpha)