Abbreviation MMEA / APMM National agency(Operations jurisdiction) Malaysia | Employees 7,000 Officers | |
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Motto Mengawal Melindung MenyelamatGuard Protect Save Formed 15 February 2005–present Legal personality Governmental: Government agency | ||
The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (Malay: Agensi Penguatkuasaan Maritim Malaysia), abbreviated APMM, MMEA or also known as Malaysian Coast Guard, is the principal government agency tasked with maintaining law and order and coordinating search and rescue operations in the Malaysian Maritime Zone and on the high seas. It is in effect the coast guard of Malaysia. The Agency is not part of nor are there any plans for it be integrated into the Malaysian Armed Forces. The Agency and its members are part of the Malaysian Federal Civil Agency and report directly to the Prime Minister's Department.
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History
The history of the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency began with the report on the Feasibility Study on the Establishment of Malaysian Coastguard conducted by National Security Council, Prime Minister's Department. The findings of the report was agreed to by the Government and a Nucleus Team led by Ducktuk Abu Talib bin Haji Harun, was created with the objective of organising the creation of the Agency. The Agency was formally established with the enactment of the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency Act 2004 (Act 633) by the Malaysian Parliament in May 2004. Subsequently, the Act received the Royal Assent from the Yang Di Pertuan Agong on 25 June 2004 and was gazetted on 1 July of the same year. On 15 February 2005, the Act came into force. The Agency achieved operational status on 30 November 2005 with the commencement of patrols by MMEA vessels. The agency maintains close ties with the United States and Japanese coast guards. The agency carries out law enforcement work during peace time.
Director General of Malaysian Maritime Enforcement
A Director General of Malaysian Maritime Enforcement appointed by the Yang Di Pertuan Agong (King) on the advice of the Prime Minister under Section 4(1) of the Act is responsible for the operational direction, command, control and supervision of the Agency. Administratively, the Director General reports directly to the Chief Secretary to the Government. By virtue of his office, he is also the head of the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Service. The Director General is assisted by three Deputy Directors General, each responsible for Management, Operations and Logistics. The post is an open one enabling any civil, military or police officer to be appointed to the post. For the purposes of discipline, the Director General is considered to be a member of the general public service of the Federation under Section 4(4). At present the Director General of Malaysian Maritime Enforcement is Admiral Datuk Ahmad Fuzi bin Ab Kahar MMEA, former Deputy Directors General of Operations .
Officers and other ranks
The officers and other ranks of the MMEA are appointed by the Public Service Commission as Maritime Enforcement Service officers under Section 5(1) of the Act and are considered civil servants under the Malaysian Civil Service. The Agency also consists of officers and staff from various other Services such as the Administrative and Diplomatic Service, Judicial and Legal Service, Information System Service and others. These personnel are primarily involved in matters of administration, finance, procurement, human resource management, legal affairs and prosecution, and information technology. With the exception of the Director, all other MMEA officers are not commissioned by the Yang Di Pertuan Agong (King). This means that Malaysian armed forces personnel may not give an honour salute to MMEA officers.
Headquarters
The headquarters of the Agency is situated at One IOI Square, IOI Resort, Putrajaya, close to the federal administrative centre of Malaysia. The Agency HQ was formerly based in Cyberjaya before it shifted to the present address in April 2006.
Academy
The Akademi Maritim Sultan Ahmad Shah (AMSAS) or Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) Academy is a coast guard academy. It is located at Gebeng near Kuantan, Pahang.
Operational areas
The operational area of the Agency is the Malaysian Maritime Zone which is divided into 5 Maritime Regions consisting of 18 Maritime Districts.
Zon Maritim Semenanjung
Ranks
Ranks for officers and other ranks in the Agency are derived from the Royal Malaysian Navy. Officer and Warrant Officer insignia are similar to that of their naval counterparts. Chevrons are used to denote the ranks of Chief Petty Officer and below.
Special forces
The MMEA currently have their own Special Forces unit. Called the STAR (Special Task And Rescue). It is composed of members from the Royal Malaysian Air Force's PASKAU and Royal Malaysian Navy's PASKAL. Their task is to do hostage rescue works in shallow waters that are under MMEA's power. They are also tasked to do anti-terrorist actions in Malaysian waters alongside the Malaysian Navy. The STAR team are considerably well trained as the members are taken from (Royal Malaysian Air Force) and the Royal Malaysian Navy Special Forces.
On 2 July 2009, the first batch of fresh commando units graduated from Basic Commando Selection alongside the Royal Malaysian Airforce SFs, PASKAU. They were given American Styled ACUs (Army Combat Uniform), blue PASKAU berets and also the Malaysian Army Zebra Woodland Camouflage uniform.