Malay Regiment

Rejimen Askar Melayu DiRaja ريجيمن عسكر ملايو دراج Royal Malay Regiment
Cap Badge of the Rejimen Askar Melayu DiRaja
Active	23 November 1932–present
Country	Malaysia
Branch	Malaysian Army
Type	Line Infantry
Role	Mechanised Infantry (one battalion) Light Infantry (22 battalions) Elite Parachute infantry (two battalions)
Size	25 battalions
Part of	Malaysian Armed Forces
Nickname(s)	Malayan Gurkha
Motto(s)	Ta'at Setia (Loyal and True)
Colour of Beret	Army green
Engagements	Battle of Malaya 1941–42 Battle of Singapore 1942 Malayan Emergency 1948–1960 Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation 1963–1965 Battle of Mogadishu 1993–1995 Moro attacks on Sabah (2013 standoff)
Commanders
Colonel in Chief	Sultan of Kedah

The Royal Malay Regiment (Malay: Rejimen Askar Melayu DiRaja; Jawi: ريجيمن عسكر ملايو دراج) is the premier unit of the Malaysian Army's two infantry regiments. At its largest, the Malay Regiment comprised 27 battalions. At present, two battalions are parachute trained and form part of the Malaysian Army Rapid Deployment Force. Another battalion has been converted into a mechanised infantry battalion while the remaining battalions are standard light infantry. The 1st Battalion Royal Malay Regiment acts as the ceremonial battalion for the High King of Malaysia, and is usually accompanied by the Central Band of the Royal Malay Regiment. As its name suggests, the regiment only recruits ethnic Malays.

Beginning in 1920, Malay rulers led by Sultan Alang Iskandar Shah (Sultan of Perak), Tuanku Muhamad Ibni Yam Tuan Antah (Negeri Sembilan), Raja Chulan (Perak Royal Family), and Dato Abdullah Haji Dahan (Undang Luak Rembau) urged the British colonial office to raise an army regiment from the local population. At the time various British and Indian Army battalions (including the Burma Rifles) provided security for the Malay States. On 23 November 1932 the War Office approved the formation of the Malay Regiment as a locally raised regiment of the British Army. Then on 23 January 1933, the Federal Consultative Council passed the Malay Regiment Act as Act No. 11. Funding of $70,000 was also approved for the purchase of the Kong Sang Rubber Estate in Port Dickson for use as the Recruit Training Centre.