Abbreviation PGK Federal agency Malaysia | Employees ~ 4,000 operators | |
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Motto Warisan Darah Perwira – 69 CommandoTangkas Banteras Ganas – UTKInheritance of The Blood of Warriors – 69 CommandoQuick to Overcome Terror – UTK Formed 20 October, 1997; 20 years ago (1997) Legal personality Governmental: Government agency |
The Pasukan Gerakan Khas (Abbreviation: PGK; Special Operations Command; SOCOM of Federal Police, Jawi:ڤاسوكن ڬرقن خاص) is a paramilitary special operations force and an elite high-profile counter-terrorism tactical unit of the Royal Malaysia Police (RMP). The PGK Command has two distinct subunits; the VAT 69 (Very Able Trooper-69; 69 Komando ) and the Special Actions Unit (Malay: Unit Tindakan Khas; UTK). An operators of VAT 69 and UTK are specially trained to intervene in high-risk events like hostage and barricade situations by hostile forces, especially terrorists and/or criminals. It originally had over 4,000 full-time operators but its actual size and organisation is classified. Both units commonly function as a high-level national tactical team in extremely sensitive or dangerous situations.
Contents
VAT 69
The VAT 69 (Very Able Troopers 69), also known as Task Force, Charlie Force and Special Project Team, is modelled on the British 22nd Special Air Service Regiment. It was founded in 1969 (hence the name – 69) as a small combat unit to counter the tactics and techniques of the communist terrorists. It began when the Minister of Home Affairs and Internal Security, The Honorable Allahyarham (late) Tun Dr Ismail proposed the formation of a special force for fighting the communist insurgency in 1969.
In October 1969, 1,600 officers and men from the Police Field Force applied for VAT 69 training of which 60 qualified themselves for basic commando training. A group of drill instructors from SAS were sent to Fort Kemar, Perak to supervise the inaugural 69 Commando. Only 30 police officers managed to pass and they formed the first nucleus troop of 69 Commando Battalion.
In the 1970s, VAT 69 started its initial operations and was successfully deployed against the Malayan National Liberation Army during the Second Malayan Emergency. As a result, a significant number of MNLA guerrillas were neutralised and large amounts of weapons and equipment were seized. VAT 69 also cooperated with the Senoi Praaq Regiment, an exclusively Orang Asli police light infantry unit, in operations against pro-Communist ASAL groups, which were composed of Orang Asli sympathisers of the Malayan Communists.
In 1977, three new squadrons were raised and trained by the New Zealand Special Air Service and a special course was also conducted to train their own instructors. This expansion programme was completed in 1980 and VAT 69 had fully equipped units with its own logistics department.
UTK
Unit Tindak Khas (UTK) or Special Actions Unit is a secondary special forces unit of the RMP after VAT 69. This unit performs as a high-level national SWAT team and the unit's men also undertake undercover missions. Founded on 1 January 1975, they were also deployed in the first mission during the Japanese Red Army (Nihon Sekigun) hostage incident on 5 August 1975 when the terrorists held approximately 50 civilians including members of the US consulate and the Swedish chargé d'affaires as hostages within the AIA building housing several embassies in Kuala Lumpur, two years after the massacre of Israeli hostages in Munich, West Germany by the Palestinian Black September army group in 1973. The terrorists won the release of five imprisoned comrades and flew with them to Libya. Similarly, the UTK were also trained by the 22 SAS but they operate in a very different tactical atmosphere as compared by US Capitol Police SWAT units. In the selection phase, only twenty from more than a hundred police applicants are selected annually. UTK were also involved with the Grup Gerak Khas (Malaysian Army Special Forces) to manage security in the 1998 Commonwealth Games.
Merger in SOCOM
On 20 October 1997, the Royal Malaysia Police reorganised and setting back a VAT 69 and UTK co-ordinate them into one special operation command known as Pasukan Gerakan Khas (PGK; Special Operations Command), launched by Prime Minister Mahathir Muhammad and Inspector General of Police Tan Sri Rahim Noor.
Although amalgamated into one directorate, they are essentially still two separate entities operating in two distinct operational environments.
Functions
PGK roles are believed to include:
Identities
Insignia
Organisation
Previously separate entities, both the VAT 69 and the UTK were amalgamated into the PGK Command on 20 October 1997, when it was launched by the 5th Inspector General of Police, Tan Sri Rahim Noor. However, the VAT 69 and the UTK are still operationing as separate units. The UTK is now officially known as Pasukan Gerakan Khas Detachment A and VAT 69 has been deputised to Pasukan Gerakan Khas Detachment B.
Based at the Royal Malaysia Police Headquarters in Bukit Aman, Kuala Lumpur, the PGK is under the direct command of the RMP's Internal and Public Security (Malay: Keselamatan Dalam Negeri dan Ketenteraman Awam) Director. The unit commander holds the rank of Senior Assistant Commissioner (SAC) and is the Deputy Director of the Internal and Public Security Branch.
With the growing threat of terrorism since the 11 September attacks, this unit has increasingly adapted itself to conduct counter-terrorism duties. With the aim of creating teams that are capable of dealing with a broad range of operations (especially counter-terrorism operations), the PGK small patrol team consist of six to ten operatives led by officers ranked from Police Inspector to Superintendent of Police with different expertise such as an attack units, snipers, EOD experts, communications experts and field medics. The PGK has also forged closer relations with the special forces of the Malaysian Armed Forces, including the 10 Paratrooper Brigade, Grup Gerak Khas, PASKAL and PASKAU, so as to enable them to more effectively enforce security within Malaysia's borders.
Roles
The UTK tactics and organisation are primarily influenced by the Germany GSG-9 and American Special Activities Division but with a difference; UTK operatives operate mostly in plain-clothes and also perform undercover missions. With approximately 300 members, the UTK is deployed in cases of hostage taking, kidnapping, terrorism and extortion. The group may also be used to secure locations, neutralise targets, track down fugitives and sometimes conduct sniper operations and escorting and protecting top leaders and VVIPs.
VAT69 commando operatives however are jungle warfare specialists given VAT69's origins as a force established to fight the communist threats in 1969 and the insurgency years. Originally trained by the British SAS, VAT69 commandos conduct land, sea and air special operation techniques, with speciality in jungle warfare and deep reconnaissance missions. They execute special operation in support of the Police Special Branch fight against subversive organisation and terrorist activities, offensive operations using special weapons and tactics, anti-terrorism, counter-insurgency, hostage rescue, close protection and supporting the Malaysian Armed Forces special forces, Rapid Deployment Force or infantry force in any security measures. There are four infantry squadrons in VAT69 Commando with its own logistic unit, totalling around 1,900 members.
VAT69's and UTK's snipers, technicians and explosive expertise regularly cross-train with foreign special forces including the Special Air Service Regiments of Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom, the Royal Thai Border Patrol Police, the French GIGN, the German Federal Police Grenzschutzgruppe 9 (GSG-9), and a number of US services including the US Navy SEALs, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) and others. UTK members wear maroon berets while VAT69 Commando members wear the sand coloured beret given to them by their founding trainers, the 22nd SAS.
On 14 November 2006, for the first time in the history of PGK, the maroon and sand coloured berets were honoured as Royal Berets by Yang Dipertuan Agong Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin Syed Putera Jamalullail, the then King of Malaysia.
Recruitment, selection and training
All members of the Malaysian police forces services with two years of service can join this Units. The three months training period includes thirteen weeks of basic training and nine weeks of advanced training. A primary selection period is as long as two days. Depending on the department's policy, officers generally have to serve a minimum tenure within the department before being able to apply for a specialist section such as VAT69 & UTK. This tenure requirement is based on the fact that PGK officers are still law enforcement officers and must have a thorough knowledge of department policies and procedures. To be eligible to join the PGK Special Forces, one must be younger than 30 years old and have a good health record.
Prospective trainees are expected to exceed the minimum requirements of the Physical Screening Test (PST), which requires that trainees must be able to:
- Run 3.2 km in 11 minutes or less
- Swim freestyle for at least 8–10 laps
- Do at least 9–13 chin-ups
- Do at least 30 sit-ups
- Do at least 60 push-ups
- Do at least 30 squat thrusts
In 69 Commando, it has a three phases included:
To accomplish its varied mission profiles, the PGK ensures that its members are well trained in the required aspects of special operations. These include:-
- HALO/HAHO
- Fast roping techniques
- Helo casting
- Abseiling
- Combat diving
- Close Quarters Combat – CQC
- Counter-insurgency
- Unconventional warfare
- Sabotage
- Close VIP protection
- Vehicular assault
- Unarmed combat
- Knife combat
- Marksmanship
- Booby-trap defusal
- Underwater demolitions )
- Intelligence
- Counterintelligence
- Special reconnaissance
- Long-range Combat Patrol
- Aircraft Hijackings
- Car stops
- Combat, Search and Rescue (CSAR)
- Coordinate multi-location warrant service
- Dignitary protection
- Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD)
- Foreign language
- Fugitive tracking (in rural environments)
- Hazmat Disposal
- High risk arrests (armed and dangerous subjects)
- Hostage rescue (HR)
- K9 Handling
- Operations in WMD environments
- Site surveys for high visibility events
- Specialized sniper operations
- Stronghold assaults (structures requiring specialised breaching equipment that local law enforcement might not have access to)
- Tubular assaults (aircraft, trains, buses, etc.)
The PGK is known to conduct joint training exercises and participate in exchange programs with Commonwealth special units such as the Australian SAS, British SAS, New Zealand SAS and Singapore Special Tactics and Rescue. The PGK routinely trains with neighbouring country tactical teams such as the Indonesian Mobile Brigade and Thailand Border Patrol Police. Occasionally the PGK trains with FBI Hostage Rescue Team, French GIGN and RAID, German GSG 9, Italian NOCS, Spanish G.E.O, US Delta Force, US Green Berets, US Army Special Operations Command Pacific Unit (SOCPAC), Russian Special Rapid Response Unit and other international units.
On 10 December 2003, the then Inspector General of Police, Tan Sri Mohd Bakri Haji Omar, launched the training programme between the USSOCPAC and the 69th PGK at the General Operations Force Training Center in Ulu Kinta, Perak. The team of SOCPAC were to conduct joint exercise with the PGK, under codename Advance Vector Balance Mint for a duration of 2 weeks. Only 42 out of the 194 participants completed the inaugural programme.
PGK equipment
PGK teams use equipment designed for a variety of specialist situations. The particular pieces of equipment vary from unit to unit, but there are some consistent trends in what they wear and use. Much of their equipment is indistinguishable from that supplied to the military, not least because much of it is military surplus
Weapons
As a special forces unit, the PGK is equipped with a wide variety of high class weapons and support equipment commonly associated with counter-terrorism operations, the most common weapons include submachine guns, assault rifles, shotguns, machineguns and sniper rifles.
Semi-automatic pistols are the most popular sidearms and the majority of the officers use various 9 mm pistols. Principal handguns include:
Various shotguns used by PGK units include:
Common submachine guns used by all PGK teams include:
Common carbines include:
Common sniper rifles used are:
The 69 Comandos used the common machine guns include:
Various grenade launchers used by PGK units include:
Less lethal weapons is:
Notes
1The Bean Bag shell is typically fired from a shotgun, and is used by police and military forces, mainly in the United States to disperse the type of riot which is not able to be controlled with tear gas weapon. When fired, the bean bag (or BB) made from rubber and plastic is expelled at around 70–90 meters/second; it spreads out in flight and distributes its impact over about 6 centimetres² of the target. It is designed to deliver a blow that will cause minimum long-term trauma and no penetration but will result in a muscle spasm or other reaction to briefly render a violent suspect immobile.
Tactical Vehicles
As a special operations unit, the PGK employs a number of specialised vehicles to accomplish its missions. These include the Commando V-150D and the GKN Sankey AT105 armoured personnel carriers equipped with M60s as assault vehicles in urban and jungle terrain as well as modified police MPV (Mobile Patrol Vehicles), vans, trucks, 4WD and buses for use as tactical vehicles. PGK also employs RHIB assault boats, jet-skis and Marine Subskimmer (DPV) in maritime missions and amphibious insertions.
For its airborne operations, PGK utilises the C-130 Hercules, Cessna 206G, Cessna 208 Caravan 1 and Pilatus Porter PC-6 aircraft as well as the E-Squirrel AS-355 F2/AS-355N helicopter.
Developments and Acquisitions
On 25 October 2007, the US Joint Interagency Task Force (JIATF) West funded RM2 million state-of-the-art shooting house for the VAT 69 Commando battalion was opened.
List of Unit Commanders
Listed below are the unit commanders past & present.
Missions
Its first counter-terrorism mission, which is one of the most well-known and which established the unit's reputation as an elite unit, was an operation known as "Operasi Subuh"/"Operasi Khas 304" (Operations Dawn/Special Operation 304). It was carried out on 3 July 2000 against Al-Ma'unah terrorists who had stolen 94 M16 rifles, 2 Steyr AUG rifles, 4 General Purpose Machineguns (GPMG), 6 Light Machineguns (LMG), 5 M203 grenade launchers, 26 bayonet daggers and thousands of ammunition rounds from 2 control posts of the Rejimen Askar Wataniah (Territorial Army Regiment) camp in Kuala Rui, Perak and captured 2 police officers, one army special forces soldier and one villager as hostages and planned to commit treason against a democratically elected government.
In the dawn of 5 July 2000, police and military units created a distraction, while members of the PGK, accompanied by the 22nd Grup Gerak Khas led by Malaysian armed forces senior officer Lt. Gen. (R) Zaini Mohamad Said and 69th Commando PGK leader ASP Abd Razak Mohd Yusof were sent to Sauk to negotiate with the Al-Ma'unah leader, Mohamed Amin Mohamed Razali.
Amin, along with his comrades were persuaded to drop their arms and surrender to the security forces. Although most of the group initially surrendered, negotiations eventually broke down and a bloody gunfight ensued. In these incidents, 2 of the 4 hostages were killed before the group finally surrendered. The security forces team suffered two casualties – police Special Branch officer Detective Corporal R. Sanghadevan and Trooper Matthew anak Medan from 22nd GGK were tortured before they were killed and was buried by 2 other hostages, Sargeant (R) Mohd Shah Ahmad and civilian Jaafar Puteh, in the jungle before they were both rescued by security forces. Abdul Halim Ali @ Ahmad, a member of the militant group, was shot dead in the gunfighting and five others were injured, including two seriously. The other 22 were taken into police custody. Mohamed Amin, Zahit Muslim, Jemari Jusoh and Jamaludin Darus were later sentenced to death and the other 16 were sentenced to life imprisonment. 10 more comrades, Megat Mohamed Hanafi Ilias, Muhamad Nukhshah Bandi Che Mansor, Riduan Berahim, Azlan Abdul Ghani, Shahidi Ali and Khairul Anuar Mohamed Ariffin, were sentenced by the High Court to ten years in jail each after pleading guilty to an alternative charge under Section 122 for preparing to wage war against the Yang di-Pertuan Agong after they pleaded guilty to the lesser charge.