CHARTER OF THE ROYAL MILITARY COLLEGE

The Royal Military College has been established with the object of preparing young Malaysians to take their places as officers in the Armed Forces of the Federation, in the higher divisions of the public service and as leaders in the professional, commercial and industrial life of the country. 

 

PIAGAM MAKTAB TENTERA DIRAJA

Maktab Tentera Diraja ditubuhkan dengan tujuan menyediakan anak-anak muda Malaysia untuk mengambil tempat mereka sebagai pegawai-pegawai Angkatan Tentera Persekutuan, dalam jawatan-jawatan tinggi perkhidmatan awam dan sebagai pemimpin-pemimpin dalam lapangan iktisas, perdagangan dan perusahaan negara. 



The History

The history of the Royal Military College started on 3rd July 1952 when a historic announcement was made by the Secretary of Defence that the Malay Regiment Training Depot in Port Dickson was to be up-graded to the Malay Regiment Training Centre with the additional establishment of the Pre-Officer Cadet Training Unit (Pre-OCTU) and a Boys Company. It was not until 1953, when the then British High Commissioner to Malaya, Field Marshal Sir Gerald Templer conceived a long term objective for the two establishments, that the FEDERATION MILITARY COLLEGE was formally formed. 

Since its inception, the College has undergone various changes. From its original site at the 5th Mile Coast Road, Port Dickson it moved to its present campus in Sungai Besi in 1961. From the first intake of 74 Budak Boy in August 1952, the population of the present Putera stands at 377 today. Originally, the intakes were for Form II but changed to Form III and Form IV when Form VI was introduced. Due to the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia the intake was changed to only Form IV. In 1980, Form I classes were introduced when it was decided to bring the College in line with the other fully residential schools in the country. Due to accommodation problem mainly, the intakes for Form I was stopped and it was back to the intake for Form IV. However, Form II classes were re-introduced for the academic year 1994/ 95. 

From its original role as a feeder institution for potential officers for the Armed Forces, it's charter was fully embedded with the formation of the Federation Military College in 1953 to prepare young Malaysians not only as officers of the Armed Forces but as officers in the Public Service and as leaders in the professional, commercial and industrial life of the country. 

From an original staff of less than 10 in 1953 (consisting of British teachers with the exception of one Malay Language teacher) the staff consists of nearly 60 Military and Civilian teachers today. In line with the Malaysianization of the College, the first Malaysian Senior Military Officer was appointed in 1961. In 1965 the first Malaysian Director of Studies was appointed. The name of the College was changed from the FEDERATION MILITARY COLLEGE to the ROYAL MILITARY COLLEGE in 1966. In 1967, the first Malaysian Army Officer took over the post of the Commandant from the British Commandant. The long-used term "Boy" was replaced with the term "Putera" in 1971.

Albeit these changes, the charter of the College remained intact and the objective of the College remained the same. To date, over 4,000 Puteras have graduated through the College. Many have taken "their places as Officers in the Armed Forces, in the higher divisions of the public service and as leaders in the professional, commercial and industrial life of the country" . It is our hope that the College will continue to produce such leaders.(-taken from the OPA's Homepage)

As of 1997, RMC has been "broken" into two. The cadet wing has been transfered to Ulu Tiram in Johore while the Boys' wing has been placed under the local admin of the Armed Forces Military Academy (ATMA). ATMA is currently the entity which would produce the next generation of highly educated officers in the Armed Forces and is now occupying what used to be the Cadet wing. Hopefully this change would not affect the Boys' wing. 


Administration Structure

The college is divided into two divisions. The Cadet division and the Putera division. The Putera division is further divided into the academic and administration section. The administration section is headed by The Division Officer in Charge (OC) whose post is held by an officer with a rank of Major.Under him there are 3 Captains who is in charge of the training, logistics and local admin of the Puteras. The Puteras are divided into eight companies A-H.Each company has 8 rank holders. The highest ranked Putera is The Senior Under Officer (SUO). He is assisted by 4 Junior Under Officers (JUO) and 3 Putera Sargents. These Putera officers are responsible for the local admin of their respective companies.