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Regimental Crest

The Royal Ranger Regiment (Malay: Rejimen Renjer DiRaja; RRD) is an infantry regiment of the Malaysian Army. Although it is second in seniority to the Royal Malay Regiment (Rejimen Askar Melayu DiRaja; 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 was captured by the Japanese in 1942.

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 organized into a regimental formation as the Sarawak Rangers in 1953.

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 Army and expanded into a multi-battalion, multi-ethnic regiment named Renjer Malaysia. This became the Rejimen Renjer in 1971, before being given the 'Royal' prefix and hence known as the Rejimen Renjer DiRaja (Royal Ranger Regiment) in 1992.

As a gesture of friendship, a Malaysian 8th Royal Ranger Regiment officer presents a hand-made fish trap to US Marines Lt. Col. T. Armstrong, commanding officer, Landing Force, exercise Cooperation Afloat Readiness And Training (LF CARAT).

The RRD follows the same pattern as the RAMD. Currently it consists of nine battalions, the majority of which are predominantly in light infantry role with one battalion deployed as mechanized infantry and another as airborne infantry.

The 8^th Ranger Battalion is one of the 3 airborne infantry battalions that form the 10 Para Brigade, the mainstay of the Army's Pasukan Atur Cepat. 7^th Ranger Battalion is presently configured as a mechanized infantry battalion and is equipped with tracked ACV 300 IFVs, some of which are armed with Bushmaster 25 mm guns.

H.M. Syed Sirajuddin Ibni Al-marhum Tuanku Syed Putra Jamalullail, the Raja of Perlis is the present Colonel in Chief of the Regiment, appointed to that position on 19 September 2000. The chairman of Regiment is presently Mejar Jeneral Datuk Muhamad Effendi Mustafa.

Rejimen Renjer DiRaja is the only regiment or corps in the Malaysian Army that is authorized to wear the hackle as part of their uniform. Rejimen Renjer DiRaja uses a black hackle.

"Agi Idup Agi Ngelaban"; it means,"As long as I live,I will still fight". This is direct translation, word for word from Iban to English. In spirit,"Agi Idup Agi Ngelaban" means "Fight to the Death."

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 Dayak 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 Sea Dayak soldiers. Dunstan Nyaring Angking of 1 Renjer was first Sea Dayak 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 Battle Truncheon.

6^th Ranger Ambush at Klian Intan

On 27 August 1970, in a successful ambush of communist terrorists near Tanah Hitam, Klian Intan in Perak, 5 Communist Terrorists (CTs) including a branch committee member were killed, and several weapons were captured by members of 6 Bn Ranger Regiment. Mejar Ismail bin Salleh, commading officer of Charlie Company and Leftenan Muda David Fu Chee Ming who was the platoon commander of 8 Platoon were awarded the Panglima Gagah Berani on 2 June 1971.

Based on information gathered by the Special Branch, that 60 Communist terrorists would be infiltrating Tanah Hitam moving on to Grik, Charlie Company with a complement of 3 officers and 94 other ranks were tasked to lay an ambush along the infiltration route. Charlie Company was split into 3 groups, with Company Hq and 9 Platoon forming the centre blocking force, 7 Platoon to the right and 8 Platoon to the left. The groups were given 2 days to prepare their ambush positions and lay booby traps and Claymore mines.

On 20 August, 1 Section consisting of 8 personnel heard the rustling of branches and bamboo being snapped by footfalls. 1 section immediately stood to in their bunkers. Renjer Abu bin Mat saw an armed CT on the trail, 35 meters from their bunker, a lead scout of a larger group. Renjer Abu bin Mat and Renjer Abu Samah Hj. Ibrahim who were manning the Section’s support GPMG, along with Lans Koperal Abdullah bin Nawi held their fire and continued their wait. Moments later, another CT appeared on the trail, and joined by another 2 CTs.

At 3.45 p.m., Lans Koperal Abdullah detonated his Claymore mine while the GPMG crew opened fire, joined by the LMG manned by Lans Koperal Karim bin Sidek manning the left bunker. At 4.20 p.m., the CTs ceased fire, even though movement could still be heard in the trail. 1 Section opened fire to suppress the CT’s movements. With nightfall, the CTs made an attempt to retrieve their fallen comrades. Mejar Ismail called for close in artillery support on the trail, walking the artillery rounds close to 1 Section’s position. The CTs withdrew before morning, leaving behind their dead. Searches the following morning revealed 5 dead CTs.

Initially, the regiment was almost exclusively composed of Sea Dayak (Iban) soldiers and a small number of Malay and Indian officers. On the formation of Malaysia on 16 September 1963, the regiment was absorbed into the Malaysian Armed Forces. The 1^st Battalion is the premier battalion and remains the icon of the Ranger Corps. 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 1^st 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 (SUPP) and its affiliate the Parti Rayat Kalimantan Utara (PARAKU) and the Tentera Nasional Indonesia (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 1^st Battalion in the immediate vicinity.

The 1^st 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, it's racial composition is about the same as other mainline Malaysian infantry battalions.

It is worth noting that in the 50s and 60s, the British SAS were taught jungle tracking by Iban soldiers. The Ibans from the jungles of Borneo are particularly suited to jungle warfare. 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 motto of this battalion is in Kadazan language: 'Osiou oh kamanang.'

7th Renjer was formed on 10 May 1970, at Quetta Camp in Kluang, Johor with an initial batch of 202 recruits formed into 2 rifle companies. The compelement was completed with the transfer of rifel company from each of 8th Malay, 2nd Renjer, 3rd Renjer and 4th Renjer. With the transfer of the companies, 7th Renjer achieved operational status.

8^th Renjer was formed on 1 March 1973, 3 years after the formation of 7^th Renjer. 8^th Renjer was reconfigured as the first paarchute infantry battalion in the Malaysian Army, and achieved operational status as a parachute infantry battalion on 1 July 1990

8^th Renjer gained fame during the communist Insurgency in the 1970s and 1980s. 8^th Renjer engaged in several search and destroy missions against Communist Terrorists in Sarawak. From 1977, the battalion was particularly successful against Communist Terrorists in search and destroy missions in the Hulu Perak, Kinta and Kuala Kangsar regions in Perak.

Several members of the battalion were awarded the nation's highest gallantry award, the Seri Pahlawan Gagah Perkasa (SP) and the Panglima Gagah Berani (PGB) medals. Pegawai Waran II Kanang anak Langkau remains to this day the only reciepient of both the Seri Pahlawan Gagah Perkasa and the Panglima Gagah Berani medals. Sarjan Michael Riman anak Bugat and Sarjan Beliang anak Bali were both awarded the Panglima Gagah Berani medal.

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