BACKGROUND The establishment of the MAFDC was initiated at the College Board Staff College held on 23rd August 1978. As a result, a committee, headed by the Deputy Chief of General Staff, was tasked to study the formation of the College. The Committee’s recommendation was approved by the Armed Forces Council on 27th September 1979. Thus on 1st June 1980 the Armed Forces Defence College or Maktab Pertahanan Angkatan Tentera (MPAT) was formally established, and on 16th September 1981 the Prime Minister, YAB Dato Seri Dr. Mahathir bin Mohamad, declared open the first Course.

MISSION

To provide selected officers in the ranks of Lieutenant Colonel or Colonel and equivalent in the Navy, Air Force, Police and the Civil Service with an advanced professional education, in preparation for senior joint services appointments, higher management and command functions.

OBJECTIVE

To ensure that Course Participants are capable of evaluating the concepts including factors that are relevant to the provision of policy advice on national security, military strategy, force development, the employment of joint and combined military forces as well as the command and control of such forces at the strategic and operational levels of war.

• The machinery for the preparation of Malaysian defence policy and the foreign policies.
• The defence operational and administrative organisation and their responsibilities for executing defence policy as well as for proper management of defence resource.
• Identifying and examining factors underlying the policies of foreign states that impact on Malaysian security interests.
• Determining trends which could affect the security of Malaysia and to analyze critically national security issues and questions of military strategy.
• The theoretical processes of joint and combined operations plans and the execution thereof, as senior staff officers.
• The application of modern management concept.

COURSE STRUCTURE

Most of the activities in the academic environment of the College are centred around the course participants themselves. The curriculum is designed not to attempt any formal teaching as such but the encourage participants’ maximum participation in all discussions and academic activities. The various activities programmed are:

• Formal lectures
• Case studies
• Research
• Group assignments
• Central/Syndicate discussions
• Seminar/Presentations
• Overseas and in-country visits

MODULES

The course is structured around two major study areas, namely, the Strategic Studies and International Relations (SSIR) module and the Joint Services Study (HSS) module. The JSS module includes Joint/Combined Operations (conducted in conjunction with the Australian Defence Force Warfare Centre), Higher Defence Organisation and Defence Management

AWARDS

Graduates are awarded a Diploma which entitles them to use the symbol `mpat’ after their names. There are awards and trophies for academic excellence such as the best overall Course Participant and best Commandant’s Paper and the best Management Paper (Defence Minister’s award).

LECTURES

Guest lectures are invited from overseas and local universities, senior military and police officers, prominent senior civil servants as well as distinguished personnel from the various institutes such as ISIS and MIMA. Heads of foreign missions from ASEAN nations, ambassadors and military attaché are also invited to lecture on their respective countries as appropriate.

EXERCISES

All exercises and written assignments are the more interesting and beneficial features of the course. There is at least one exercise or assignment for each module. The major individual exercises of 5,000 and 10,000 words are the Seminar and Commandant’s Paper respectively which are supervised by external moderators. The best papers are published in the College’s annual journals TRISAKTI PAPERS and strategy journals STRATEGI.

VISITS

Field trips form an essential facet of the course. In-country visits are made in three separate groups to selected states of Malaysia. During the visit, industrial and economic development projects are viewed and discussions held with the relevant authorities. Visit to the military, public and private sector establishments are also made as appropriate. Overseas visit are made in two separate groups to friendly countries of the Asia-Pacific region and any two of the ASEAN countries.

THE COLLEGE CREST

The crown signifies the sovereignty of the nation. The concentric ellipses standing on its end with the Armed Forces crest inside it, symbolise the stability of the Armed Forces as defenders of the Sovereignty, manifested as a result of loyalty and the strength of cooperation. The open book denotes the open academic environment facilitated by the College to encourage the imparting and expansion of knowledge to officers from the Services. The motto BERSATU TEGUH is intended to emphasise the need for close cooperation and mutual understanding among the Services.