Credit : Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's X
November 2, 2026 – The MADANI Government has agreed to carry out improvements to the career advancement of senior officers of the Malaysian Armed Forces (ATM), Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said today.
Anwar shared on X that the decision was made in recognition of the trust and the heavy responsibility the officers carry in defending the nation’s sovereignty and security.
He said the agreement was reached when he chaired a special meeting with the top leadership of the armed forces, in line with the need to strengthen the country’s defence capability in facing a global security and geostrategic landscape that he described as increasingly complex and challenging.
According to the Prime Minister, the meeting also gave the government room to examine the state of readiness of each of the armed forces’ services, as well as the needs for the procurement and maintenance of defence assets, to make sure the armed forces’ operational capability always remains at its best.
“I appreciate the views and direct feedback from the ATM leadership, because every government policy and decision must be anchored in the real needs on the ground, not merely considerations on paper,” Anwar wrote.
He added that the MADANI Government would continue to give due attention to the needs and welfare of armed forces personnel. “Indeed, defending the sovereignty and peace of the homeland is not merely the responsibility of the security forces, but a great trust that we must all uphold together,” he said. Anwar shared three photographs of the meeting with his post, which did not give details of the improvements agreed.
The decision follows remarks Anwar made on July 27, 2026, at the Semarak Kenegaraan programme at Syed Sirajuddin Camp in Gemas, Negeri Sembilan, when he said the government was studying ways to improve the promotion process for senior armed forces officers, Bernama reported. He said then that promotions among senior officers sometimes took longer than those of other civil servants, and that he had asked the Chief Secretary to the Government, Tan Sri Shamsul Azri Abu Bakar, to review the matter.
At that event, Anwar said the number of officers involved was not large but that the financial implications had to be assessed, adding that the matter would be finalised at a meeting he would chair so that the armed forces would not feel left behind or sidelined.
He also noted at the time that civil servants, including members of the security forces, had already received new salary scales under the Public Service Remuneration System (SSPA). In early August, Anwar said the proposal had been agreed in principle after he asked the Chief Secretary to the Government and the Director-General of Public Service, Tan Sri Wan Ahmad Dahlan Abdul Aziz, to look into the promotion issues that had been raised, according to Kosmo! Online.
In August, Defence Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin said his ministry had put forward three main areas for improvement: the structure and organisation of the armed forces, grades and career advancement, and allowances and facilities for personnel. He said some officers who met competency and performance requirements had limited career progression because of a lack of vacancies in the existing structure, and stressed that promotions would not be automatic but based on merit, competency, integrity and organisational needs, Kosmo! Online reported.
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