Powers of command
(1) It is hereby declared for the avoidance of doubt that the Armed Forces Council with the approval of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong may
make regulations providing for the persons, being members of the armed forces, in whom command over the armed forces or any part or members thereof, is to be vested and as to the circumstances in which such command as aforesaid is to be exercised.
(2) In relation to members of the armed forces when in aircraft, the foregoing subsection shall have effect as if references to members of the armed forces include references to any person in command of an aircraft.
(3) Nothing in this section shall affect any power vested in the Yang di-Pertuan Agong by any other written law.
Powers of command when portions of different Services are serving together
(1) When portions of two or more Services of the armed forces are serving together, command of those portions may be exercised by such officer of any Service of the armed forces as may be designated by the competent authority.
(2) An officer designated as aforesaid shall have command over all officers and servicemen serving in such portions.
(3) When portions of two or more Services of the armed forces are serving together in a composite formation, unit, station or establishment, officers and servicemen serving therein shall, unless the competent authority otherwise directs, obey the orders of all persons, irrespective of their Services, who are senior to them in rank in that formation, unit, station or establishment.
Redress of Complaints
Complaints by officers
(1) If an officer thinks himself wronged in any matter by a superior officer or authority and on application to his commanding
officer does not obtain the redress to which he thinks he is entitled, he may make a complaint with respect to that matter to the Armed Forces Council.
(2) On receiving any such complaint it shall be the duty of the Armed Forces Council to investigate the complaint and to grant any redress which appears to it to be necessary, or if the complaint so requires, the Armed Forces Council shall, through the Minister, make its report on the complaint to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong in order to receive the directions of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong thereon.
Complaints by servicemen
(1) If a serviceman thinks himself wronged in any matter by any officer other than his commanding officer or by any serviceman, he may make a complaint with respect to that matter to his commanding officer.
(2) If a serviceman thinks himself wronged in any matter by his commanding officer, either by reason of redress not being given to his satisfaction on a complaint under the foregoing subsection or for any other reason, he may make a complaint with respect thereto to any superior officer under whom the complainant is for the time being serving.
(3) It shall be the duty of a commanding or other officer to have any complaint received by him under this section investigated as soon as practicable and to take any steps for redressing the matter complained of which appear to him to be necessary.
Provisions as to Ships under Convoy
Ships under convoy
(1) It is the duty of any master or other person in command of any ship comprised in a convoy under the command of an officer of the Navy or of the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve or of any person
appointed in that behalf with the authority of the Minister, to obey, in all matters relating to the navigation or security of the convoy, any directions which may be given—
(a) where the convoy is escorted by any ship of the Navy, by the commanding officer of any such ship;
(b) in any other case, by the said officer or other person in command of the convoy,
and to take such precautions for avoiding the enemy as may be required by any such directions.
(2) If any such directions are not obeyed, any such commanding officer, or the said officer or other person in command of the convoy, may compel obedience by force of arms, and neither he nor any person acting under his orders shall be liable for any injury or loss of life or any damage to or loss of property resulting therefrom.
Provisions as to Salvage
Salvage by His Majesty’s ships or aircraft
(1) Where salvage services are rendered by or with the aid of a ship or aircraft belonging to or in the service of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and used in the armed forces, the Federal Government may claim salvage for those services, and shall have the same rights and remedies in respect of those services as any other salvor would have had if the ship or aircraft had belonged to him.
(2) No claim for salvage services by the commander or any of the officers or servicemen of a ship or aircraft belonging to or in the service of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and used in the armed forces shall be finally adjudicated upon, unless the consent of the Minister to the prosecution of the claim is proved; and such consent may be given at any time before final adjudication.
(3) Any document purporting to give the consent of the Minister for the purpose of this section shall be evidence of that consent.
(4) Where a claim for salvage services is prosecuted and the consent of the Minister is not proved, the claim shall be dismissed with costs.
(5) The Minister may, upon the recommendation of the Attorney- General, accept on behalf of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and the commander, officers and servicemen or any of them, any offer of settlement with respect to claims for salvage services rendered to any ship or aircraft belonging to or in the service of the Yang di- Pertuan Agong and used in the armed forces.
(6) The proceeds of any settlement made under the last foregoing subsection shall be distributed in such manner as the Armed Forces Council with the approval of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong may prescribe.
Provisions relating to Deserters and Absentees without Leave
Arrest of deserters and absentees without leave
(1) A police officer may arrest any person whom he has reasonable cause to suspect of being an officer or serviceman of the regular forces who has deserted or is absent without leave.
(2) Where no police officer is available, any officer or serviceman of the regular forces, or any other person, may arrest any person whom he has reasonable cause to suspect as aforesaid.
(3) A magistrate or other person having authority to issue a warrant for the arrest of a person charged with crime, if satisfied by evidence on oath that that person is reasonably suspected of being, within his jurisdiction, an officer or serviceman of the regular forces who has deserted or is absent without leave, or is reasonably suspected of being absent without leave, may issue a warrant authorizing his arrest.
(4) Any person in custody in pursuance of this section shall, as soon as practicable and in any case within twenty-four hours (excluding the time of any necessary journey) be produced before a magistrate.
Proceedings before a civil court where persons suspected of illegal absence
(1) Where a person who is brought before a magistrate is alleged to be an officer or serviceman of the regular forces who has deserted or is absent without leave, the following provisions shall have effect.
(2) If he admits that he is illegally absent from the regular forces and the magistrate is satisfied of the truth of the admission, then—
(a) unless he is in custody for some other cause, the magistrate shall; and
(b) notwithstanding that he is in custody for some other case, the magistrate may,
forthwith either cause him to be delivered into armed forces custody in such manner as the magistrate may think fit, or commit him to some prison, police station or other place provided for the confinement of persons in custody, to be kept there for such reasonable time as the magistrate may specify (not exceeding such time as appears to the magistrate reasonably necessary for the purpose of enabling him to be delivered into armed forces custody) or until sooner into such custody.
(3) Any time specified by the magistrate in accordance with the last foregoing subsection may be extended by the magistrate from time to time if it appears to the magistrate reasonably necessary so to do for the purpose as aforesaid.
(4) If he does not admit that he is illegally absent as aforesaid, or if the magistrate is not satisfied of the truth of the admission, the magistrate shall consider the offence and any statement of the accused,
and if satisfied that he is subject to service law under this Act and if of opinion that there is sufficient evidence to justify his being tried under this Act for an offence of desertion or absence without leave then, unless he is in custody for some other cause, the magistrate shall cause him to be delivered into armed forces custody, or commit him as aforesaid, or otherwise shall discharge him:
Provided that if he is in custody for some other cause, the magistrate shall have power at his discretion to act in accordance with this subsection.
Deserters and absentees without leave surrendering to police
(1) Where in Malaysia a person surrenders himself to a police officer as being illegally absent from the regular forces, the police officer shall (unless he surrenders himself at a police station) bring him to a police station.
(2) The officer in charge of a police station at which a person has surrendered himself as aforesaid, or to which a person who has so surrendered himself is brought, shall forthwith inquire into the case, and if it appears to the officer that the said person is illegally absent as aforesaid he may cause him to be delivered into armed forces custody without bringing him before a magistrate or to be brought before a magistrate.
Certificates of arrest or surrender of deserters and absentees
(1) Where a magistrate in pursuance of section 175 deals with a person who is illegally absent, then when that person is delivered into armed forces custody there shall be handed over a certificate in the prescribed form, signed by the magistrate, containing the prescribed particulars as to his arrest or surrender and the proceedings before the magistrate.
(2) Where in the foregoing subsection a person is delivered into armed forces custody without being brought before a magistrate, there shall be handed over a certificate in the prescribed form, signed by the
police officer who causes him to be delivered into armed forces custody, containing the prescribed particulars relating to his surrender.
(3) In any proceedings for an offence under section 54 or 55—
(a) a document purporting to be a certificate under either of the two last foregoing subsections and to be signed as thereby required, shall be evidence of the matters stated in that document;
(b) where the proceedings are against a person who, on arrest or surrender, has been taken into armed forces custody or into the naval, military or air force custody of any foreign force, a certificate purporting to be signed by a provost officer, or any corresponding officer of a foreign force, or by any other officer in charge of the guard room or other place where that person was confined on being taken into custody, stating the fact, date, time and place of arrest or surrender, shall be evidence of the matters stated in the certificate.
(4) In this section the expression “prescribed” means prescribed by regulations made by the Armed Forces Council with the approval of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.
Duties of superintendent of prisons and others to receive deserters and absentees without leave
(1) It shall be the duty of the superintendent or other person in charge of a civil prison in Malaysia to receive any person duly committed to that prison by a magistrate as illegally absent from the regular forces and to detain him until in accordance with the directions of the magistrate he is delivered into armed forces custody.
(2) The last foregoing subsection shall apply to the person having charge of any police station or other place (not being a prison) in Malaysia provided for the confinement of persons in custody as it applies to the superintendent or other person in charge of a civil prison.
Offences relating to the Armed Forces punishable by Civil Courts
Punishment for pretending to be a deserter
Every person who in Malaysia falsely represents himself to any armed forces authority or civil authority to be a deserter from the regular forces shall, on conviction, be liable to a fine not exceeding five hundred ringgit or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months or to both.
Punishment for obstructing members of regular forces in execution of duty
Every person who in Malaysia wilfully obstructs or otherwise interferes with any officer or serviceman of the regular forces in the execution of his duty shall, on conviction, be liable to a fine not exceeding five hundred ringgit or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months or to both.
Provisions as to Evidence
General provisions as to evidence
(1) The following provisions shall have effect with respect to evidence in proceedings under this Act, whether before a court-martial, a civil court or otherwise.
(2) A document purporting to be a copy of the attestation paper signed by any person and to be certified to be a true copy by a person stated in the certificate to have the custody of the attestation paper shall be evidence of the enlistment of the person attested.
(3) The attestation paper purporting to be signed by a person on his enlistment shall be evidence of his having given the answers to the questions recorded therein.
(4) A letter, return or other document stating that any person—
(a) was or was not serving at any specified time or during any specified period in any of the armed forces, or was discharged from any of the armed forces at or before any specified time;
(b) held or did not hold at any specified time any specified rank or appointment in any of those forces, or had at or before any specified time been attached, seconded, posted or transferred to any of those forces, or at any specified time or during any specified period was or was not serving or held or did not hold any rank or appointment in any particular country or place; or
(c) was or was not at any specified time authorized to use or wear any decoration, badge or emblem,
shall, if purporting to be issued by or on behalf of the Officer-in- Charge, Combined Records, Malaysian Armed Forces, or by a person authorized by the Armed Forces Council be evidence of the matters stated in such letter, return or other document.
(5) A record made in any service book or other document prescribed by regulations made under this Act for the purposes of this subsection, being a record made in pursuance of any written law or otherwise in pursuance of duty, and purporting to be signed by the commanding officer or by any person whose duty it was to make the record, shall be evidence of the facts stated therein; and a copy of a record (including the signature thereto) in any such book or other document as aforesaid, purporting to be certified to be a true copy by a person stated in the certificate to have the custody of the book or other document, shall be evidence of the record.
(6) A document purporting to be issued by order of the Armed Forces Council and to contain instructions, orders or regulations given or made by the Armed Forces Council shall be evidence of the giving of the instructions or the making of the orders or regulations and shall be evidence of the contents of such instructions, orders and regulations.
(7) A certificate purporting to be issued by or on behalf of the Officer-in-Charge, Combined Records, Malaysian Armed Forces, or by a person authorized by the Armed Forces Council—
(a) that a decoration of a description specified in or annexed to a certificate is a service decoration; or
(b) that a badge or emblem of a description specified in or annexed to a certificate is one supplied or authorized by the Armed Forces Council,
shall be evidence of the matters stated in the certificate.
(8) A certificate purporting to be signed by a person’s commanding officer or any officer authorized by him to give the certificate, and stating the contents of, or of any part of, standing orders or other routine orders of a continuing nature made for—
(a) any formation or unit or body of troops;
(b) any command or other area, station, garrison or place;
(c) any ship or naval establishment; or
(d) any train or aircraft,
shall in proceedings against the said person be evidence of the matters stated in the certificate.
Proof of outcome of civil trial
(1) Where a person subject to service law under this Act has been tried before a civil court (whether at the time of the trial he was so subject or not), a certificate signed by the registrar of the civil court and stating all or any of the following matters:
(a) that the said person has been tried before the court for an offence specified in the certificate;
(b) the result of the trial;
(c) what judgment or order was given or made by the court;
(d) that other offences specified in the certificate were taken into consideration at the trial,
shall for the purposes of this Act be evidence of the matters stated in the certificate.
(2) The registrar of the civil court shall if required by the commanding officer of the person in question or any other officer furnish a certificate under this section.
(3) A document purporting to be a certificate under this section and to be signed by the registrar of the civil court shall, unless the contrary is shown, be deemed to be such a certificate.
Evidence of proceedings of courts-martial
(1) The original proceedings of a court-martial purporting to be signed by the president of the court-martial and being in the custody of the Officer-in-Charge, Combined Records, Malaysian Armed Forces, or of any person having the lawful custody thereof, shall be admissible in evidence on production from that custody.
(2) A document purporting to be a copy of the original proceedings of a court-martial or any part thereof and to be certified by the Officer-in- Charge, Combined Records, Malaysian Armed Forces, or any person authorized by him, or by any person having lawful custody of the proceedings, to be a true copy, shall be evidence of the contents of the proceedings or the part to which the document relates, as the case may be.
(3) This section applies to any evidence given in any civil court in Malaysia relating to criminal proceedings.
Miscellaneous Provisions
Restrictions on reduction in rank of warrant officers and non-commissioned officers
(1) A warrant officer of the regular forces shall not be reduced in rank except by sentence of a court-martial or by order of the Armed Forces Council, or of the appropriate Service Chief or of an officer authorized by the Armed Forces Council.
(2) A non-commissioned officer (other than a lance corporal or lance bombardier) of the regular forces shall not be reduced in rank except by sentence of a court-martial, or by his commanding officer with the approval of and to the extent approved by an approving authority, or by order of the Armed Forces Council or of the appropriate Service Chief or of an officer authorized by the Armed Forces Council.
(3) An authorization under either of the two last foregoing subsections may be given generally or subject to such limitations as may be specified by the Armed Forces Council.
(4) For the purposes of subsections (1) and (2) reduction in rank does not include reversion from acting rank.
Avoidance of charge on military pay, pensions, etc.
(1) A pension, gratuity or other grant payable under this Act shall not be assignable or transferable, except for the purpose of satisfying—
(a) a debt due to the Government of the Federation or to the Government of any State;
(aa) a debt due to the Public Sector Home Financing Board established under the Public Sector Home Financing Board Act 2015 [Act 767] in respect of a public sector home financing facility granted by the Board; or
(b) an order of any court for the payment of any sum of money towards the maintenance of a wife or former wife or minor child, whether legitimate or not, of the member to whom the pension, gratuity or other grant has been paid,
and such pension, gratuity or other grant shall not be liable to be attached, sequestered or levied upon for or in respect of any other debt or claim whatever except for the purposes specified in paragraphs (a),
(aa) and (b).
(2) Save as is expressly provided by this Act, no order shall be made by any court-martial or civil court the effect of which would be to restrain any person from receiving anything which by virtue of this section he is precluded from assigning and to direct payment thereof to another person.
(3) Nothing in this section shall prejudice any written law providing for the payment of any sum to a bankrupt’s trustee in bankruptcy for distribution amongst creditors.
Power of certain officers to take statutory declarations
(1) An officer of the regular forces of a rank not below that of major, lieutenant-commander or squadron leader (hereinafter referred to as “the authorized officer”) may, outside Malaysia, take statutory declarations from persons subject to service law under this Act.
(2) A document purporting to have subscribed thereto the signature of an authorized officer in testimony of a statutory declaration being taken before him in pursuance of this section and containing in the jurat or attestation a statement of the date on which and the place at which the declaration was taken and of the full name and rank of that officer shall be admitted in evidence without proof of the signature being the signature of that officer or of the facts so stated.
Power of the Armed Forces Council to make pension, etc., regulations
(1) The Armed Forces Council with the approval of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong may make regulations including regulations providing for matters which may be issued by Perintah Majlis Angkatan Tentera in respect of the eligibility of members of the regular forces and their dependants for retired pay, pensions, gratuities and other grants; and such regulations may specify the conditions governing the grant of and the rates of such retired pay, pensions, gratuities and other grants, and may contain any other provisions which may be necessary to carry out the purposes of this section.
(2) Notwithstanding the appointment of the date for the coming into force of this Act pursuant to section 1 or the provisions of any written law to the contrary, any regulations made under subsection (1) may be given retrospective effect to any date, whether before or after the coming into force of this Act.
(3) Notwithstanding the appointment of the date for the coming into force of this Act pursuant to section 1 or the provisions of any written law to the contrary, the Armed Forces Council with the approval of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong may amend any of the rules, regulations, orders and other instruments made under the enactment and ordinances repealed by subsection 217(1) where such subsidiary legislation is still in force by virtue of subsection (2) of that section and any amendment made hereunder to such subsidiary legislation still in force may be given retrospective effect to any date, whether before or after the coming into force of this Act.
Collection of contributions
(1) The competent authority may collect such contributions as it thinks fit for the purposes of promoting the welfare of and providing other benefits for the members of the armed forces and their families, including for the establishment of messes in the various units.
(2) For the purposes of Part V, the contributions shall be deemed to be service property.
(3) The Armed Forces Council may issue Perintah Majlis Angkatan Tentera for the purpose of this section including providing for the appointment of persons by whom and the manner in which the contributions are to be administered, managed, controlled and disbursed.
(4) For the purpose of this section, “unit” means headquarters, formation, base, ship, station, depot, training centre or any of its equivalent.
Validation of contributions collected
Any contributions collected and any monies expended therefrom for any period prior to the coming into force of this provision that would have been lawful if this provision had been in force are hereby validated and declared to have been lawfully collected and expended.
Source: Laws of Malaysia, Attorney General's Chambers of Malaysia (lom.agc.gov.my). Not a copy of the Gazette printed by the Government Printer (Interpretation Acts 1948 and 1967, s 61).
