Royal Johor Military Force


The Royal Johor Military Force is an independent military force of the state of Johor and the private royal guard of Sultan of Johor in Malaysia. The JMF is the Malaysian oldest active military unit still in operation and the only military in the Federation that is maintained by a state. The force comes under the control of the Sultan. Its headquarters are located at Sultan Ibrahim Camp, Johor Bahru.
The retention of the army was one of the stipulations in 1946 which Johor made when it participated in the Federation of Malaya. The Ninth Schedule of the Constitution of Malaysia states that the Malaysian federal government is solely responsible for foreign policy and military forces in the country. The JMF will be involved under the Malaysian Armed Forces during any kind of emergency and armed conflict as an infantry unit.

History

The JMF was established and raised in 1886 under the visionary reign of the first Sultan of Modern Johor, Sultan Abu Bakar. Johor was the first and only Malay state to have its modern military force. Back then, there are no other Malay state has its army. Its inception was based on Anglo-Johor Treaty of 1885 signed by Sultan Abu Bakar and Queen Victoria in London, the United Kingdom to uphold peace and protect Johor including Singapore from outside threats then. From the treaty, Sultan Abu Bakar has given his concern for the British to established a British-controlled police force, namely Pasukan Setia Negeri, inside Johor. The Johore Constabulary Forces were established by his majesty to act as a backup for the British police and also to balanced the authority given to them. It is later renamed to Timbalan Setia Negeri.
Initially, the TSN was formed with only 60 Johorean Malays and led by Syed Mohammed Nong Yahya, who was a police officer in the British Police Force. They were tasked to protect the Sultan as bodyguards, and also to work together with the British Police Forces to enforces the law. In the same time, the Sultan also employed 20 Punjabis soldiers led by Major Daud Sulaiman as the Istana Guard tasked to protect the royal palaces' surroundings. One year after its establishment, the Sultan upgraded the forces into a military force and changed its name into Angkatan Timbalan Setia Negeri. The Malays members were trained as infantry soldiers while the Punjabis as artillery gunners. An English army officer, Captain Newland was appointed as the Officer commanding of the unit. Even upgraded into a military unit, the ATSN still entrusted with the roles of protecting public safety and enforcing the law. Their job at this time is similar to the Gendarmerie.
in Singapore,
In 1895, Sultan Ibrahim was appointed as JMF Colonel Commandant who had strengthened the Force further by forming the Johor Volunteer Forces. In the early 1900s, the name was changed to its current local name — Askar Timbalan Setia Negeri. The current English name, the Johor Military Forces, was introduced in 1905 after three of its main unit were merged into one. The JMF personnel increased to 576 in 1915: 394 infantry soldiers, 98 artillery soldiers and 84 marching soldiers. Sultan Ibrahim then appointed Lieutenant Colonel Tompkins and Sergeant Major Claymore to train the team. Sultan Ibrahim was the first ruler who had bestowed new Royal Military colours to the JMF during the Presentation of Colours ceremony when the force celebrated its 30th anniversary on 11 May 1916. In 1940 and 1941, Sultan Ibrahim sent a few officers to Dehra Dun, India to undergo military training to improve the soldiers. In 1942, after the falls of Malaya to the Japanese military forces, the JMF was disbanded and later been revived back in.

Roles

Past roles

The roles of JMF are growing in parallel to the JMF progress. Initially, they were established in protecting Johor's safety and the king. They later become a Gendarmerie unit tasked to protect the public safety in the Johor. Some of them were assigned as palace guards and guarding the palaces belongs to the Johor royal family.
JMF believed to be the oldest military unit in Malaysia had played a significant historical role especially in suppression of the 1915 Singapore Mutiny and served in both World Wars. During World War I, the JMF was loaned to the British military. As the Johor State Forces, it played a significant role in the suppression and capturing the Indian soldiers of 5th Light Infantry who deserted in the "Singapore Mutiny" incident. They were tasked to assist the British as prison guards for the German POW camp in Singapore, maintaining the security of government premises in Singapore, and patrol on Pulau Brani and Pulau Belakang Mati. Besides that, they also tasked to guard the main road in Mersing, Kluang and Batu Pahat, and the British military airbase in Kluang.

Present-day roles

The modern JMF's roles is a second line of defence right after the Malaysian Armed Forces. Their main roles are to protect Sultan of Johor, his royal family and properties. The JMF troops will be tasked with guard duty at four royal palaces in Johor Bahru. Beside the palaces, they are also tasked to guarding the JMF's camps, military posts, marching band's building, royal dock and royal yachts. They also tasked to become the Guard of honour during official ceremonies and foreign delegations visit to Johor.
Their secondary roles are as a standby infantry unit for the MAF in case of emergency or armed conflict. During an emergency, the JMF will be put under the command of the MAF.

Identities

Uniforms

The uniforms of the JMF has changed throughout history. In the early of its establishment, the JMF use the same uniform like the police force but with red songkok instead of black used by the regular policemen. Today, they are known for using:
Topi Timbalan
Green Beret
Combat Uniform

Ranks and positions

Commissioned officers

The following are rank insignia for commissioned officers for the Johor Military Force.

Major General and Brigadier General

The JMF has complicated ranks for its officers. It has the ranks of Major General and Brigadier General even though the overall strength of the JMF is more and less of a battalion. The history of the ranks begin in February 1941 when the strength of the JMF is soldiers and the Johor Volunteer Forces is soldiers. Sultan Ibrahim as the commandant of both forces combined the forces and promoted the JMF's Second-in-Command of that time, Lieutenant Colonel Dato’ Haji Yahya into the rank of Colonel. One month later, the Sultan assumed the rank of Major-General. After World War II and the establishment of Malayan Union, the strength of JMF was reduced into 100 soldiers. With the Sultan's rank as Major General of the JMF made redundant, the Sultan was instead appointed an honorary Major General in the British Army in 1947.
The present-day JMF's rank of Major General is an honorary rank reserved only for the Sultan from 1947 until 2017, while the rank of Brigadier General is reserved only for the Crown Prince. In March 2017, the Crown Prince or Tunku Mahkota of Johor, Tunku Ismail was promoted to Major General for his achievement in modernising the JMF.

Other ranks

The following are rank insignia for other ranks for the Johor Military Force.

Commandant of JMF

There is two commandant post throughout the history of JMF. It is the Commandant Colonel of JMF and the Commandant of JMF. The Commandant Colonel of JMF is reserved only for the Sultan while the Commandant of JMF was the most professional non-royal appointments appointed by the Sultan to lead the force. The first Commandant of JMF is Captain C. N. C. Newland of the 2nd Battalion South Irish Division, Royal Artillery, who was appointed as an instructor and commandant in 1887. The position of Commandant of JMF was abolished in the 1920s and replaced with the position of Military Advisor and Second-in-Command. The Sultan assumed the post of Commandant Colonel cum Commanding officer of JMF. The Sultan's post of Commandant Colonel of JMF is later known as the Commandant of JMF.

Commanding officer of JMF

The Commanding officer of JMF is the most senior post in the JMF. This post is reserved for the Sultan of Johor's Royal Family to lead the JMF in administration and combat. Historically, this post belongs to the Sultan of Johor. The Commanding officer of JMF holds the rank of Major General. The current Commanding officer of JMF is Major General Tunku Ismail Idris.

Second-in-Command of JMF

The Second-in-Command of JMF is the most professional position in the JMF. The 2IC of JMF post is the highest positions that any JMF officers can achieve and holds the rank of Major. The current 2IC of JMF is Major Ahmad Hamdan Libar, succeeding Captain Jalalludin Hamsan, the previous 2IC that retired on 1 June 2018.

Formations

The formations of the JMF changes a few times throughout its history.

Johore Constabulary Forces (1886–1887)

1900s–1905
1905–1939
The highest strength of JMF is in 1922 with 645 personnel.
1939–1942
The highest strength of JMF by WWII is around 2000 personnel.
Post-WWII–1978
1979–2007
The current JMF formations is divided into four units:
''Istana'' Guards
JMF Marching band
Administrations unit
Elite force platoon

Current development

The JMF has continued to exist to date as one of Johor's defences, besides performing mainly ceremonial functions. The JMF Elite Forces was established on 7 July 2008 and has been providing security and close protection to the Royal Family of Johor since 2008. In April 2016, the Sultan suggested that so the JMF roles were widened to include as security forces for state government buildings.
Sultan Ibrahim Ismail stressed the importance of good ties be maintained with clear line of roles drawn between JMF and Malaysian Armed Forces as the JMF was not formed and intended to be the country's first line of defence, thus the word ‘timbalan’ meaning deputy in its Malay name, indicating its task as the second line and roles in assisting MAF.
Timeline
The JMF only recruits its member from the Malaysian who born in Johor, aged between 18 and 23 years old. There is a special criterion which is prioritised to those who know to read and write in Jawi script. This tradition is continued since the JMF establishment in 1886.

Preliminary stage – At owns district

Last only for a day, it is done annually where the JMF staff will visit each district in Johor to recruit the potential trainees. The minimum physical requirement is for height and for weight. Potential trainees will go through a series of physical test.

Preliminary stage – At JMF's camp

Trainees that succeeded the first stage will be brought to the Sultan Ibrahim Camp to face another series of test. The number of trainees here is double the size of the vacant slots. This stage is required to weed out half of its trainees. There are two tests here which is:
The trainee who passed all the preliminary stage will be selected as new JMF recruits. They will be trained with basic soldiering and infantry training. The training is not 100% similar to the Malaysian Army Basic Training. As royal guards, the training been through by the JMF recruits also includes protocol training, more precisely, how to interact with the royals. The recruits are required to master the Jawi script as all reports must be written in Jawi.

Advanced training

There are many opportunities given by the JMF for its members. The sultan also encourages them to try for the JMF Elite Forces in their early 20s so they can stay fit for the special forces unit. The JMF also send their members to received training at the Malaysia Armed Forces training centres. Some of the advanced training offered are:
The JMF has produced some of the country's great leader and celebrity. Among them are: