KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian Army Assistant Chief of Staff for Personnel Forces Lt GenDatuk Mohd Nizam Jaffar has been appointed as the 23rd Chief of Defence Force effective today.
Mohd Nizam, 59, took over the position from Gen Tan Sri Mohammad Ab Rahman, who completed his service today, at a handover ceremony officiated by Defence Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin at Wisma Pertahanan here today.
Chief of Army Gen Datuk Muhammad Hafizuddeain Jantan, Chief of Navy Admiral Datuk Zulhelmy Ithnain and Chief of Air Force Gen Tan Sri Mohd Asghar Khan Goriman Khan also attended the ceremony.
Mohd Nizam, who was also promoted to the rank of General at the ceremony, is a Army officer who received his promotion to lieutenant general on Feb 23 last year and has served in many important positions, including the Commandant of the National Defence College, the Malaysian Army Training and Doctrine Command training management director and commander of the 2nd Malaysian Army Infantry Brigade.
The Johor Bahru native began as a platoon leader in the 19th Royal Malay Regiment (Mechanised) and then was entrusted with the responsibilities of being the Aide-de-Camp to the Deputy Chief of Army from 1989 to 1990, then to the Chief of Defence Force (1990 to 1992) and to the 14th Yang di-Pertuan Agong (2011-2016).
Mohd Nizam is a graduate of the Sandhurst Royal Military Academy, England itu and has attended various career courses, both local and foreign, including at the Junior Command and Staff College in Bangladesh, a Mid Career Management Course in Pakistan, at the Command and General Staff College, Fort Leavenworth in the United States as well as Le Collège Interarmées de Défense in France.
He also completed his studies at the National Defence College, the National Centre for Defence Studies (PUSPAHANAS), Putrajaya and was awarded the he National Resilience College (NRC) Award by the NRC Directing Staff Council.
He also has a Master’s degree in Business Administration from University of Nottingham and is a Fellow Scholar at Universiti Pertahanan Nasional Malaysia (UPNM).
He made history as the first senior Army officer to be selected to attend the Global Peace Operations Initiative (GPOI) Peace Support Operations Contingent Commander Course in Monterey, the US before being appointed as the Commander of the Malaysian Battallion (MALBATT) 2 peacekeeping force in Lebanon.
