Mohd Zaki (front) with the rest of the army officers in a photo-call after the parade.
MIRI: After a long and memorable 44 years, seven months and 10 days in the army, it is time for Major General Datuk Pahlawan Abdul Rahim Abdul Mutalib to hang up his boots.
Abdul Rahim was commissioned in the Royal Malay Regiment (RAMD) and his first posting was to 20th RAMD which was then in Kelantan — the very reason why he chose to have his farewell parade at the 20th RAMD camp here yesterday.
Abdul Rahim was given a rousing farewell parade at the 20th RAMD Sri Miri Camp yesterday, in a ceremony attended by commander of the Eastern Field Command Lt Gen Datuk Wira Mohd Zaki Mokhtar and wife, First Malaysian Infantry Division Commander Major General Datuk Stephen Mundaw and wife, Infantry Director Brigadier General Datuk Dzulkarnain Ahmad and wife, Task Force 450 Commander Major General Datuk Zulkapri Rahamat and wife, Ninth Infantry Brigade Commander Brigadier General Datuk Dzulkafli Mustaffa and wife, and other senior officers.
Born on Oct 24, 1958 in Batu Gajah, Perak, Abdul Rahim retires as assistant commander of the Armed Forces Reserve Division in Kuala Lumpur and prior to this appointment, he was the commander of the 8th Infantry Brigade from Sept 7, 2009 to Jan 22, 2011.
“I formed my army career at 20th RAMD and I am grateful for all the experiences I have obtained throughout my career and thank you very much to all those involved in the parade today (yesterday),” said Abdul Rahim, who was also once appointed as the Malaysian military liaison officer based at Forward Operation Base Ban To Mo, Weng District, Narathiwat, Thailand for four months, some years back.
When asked about the challenges he faced throughout his career, Abdul Rahim said his early army days saw him involved in counter insurgency operations against communist terrorists at Raub, Pahang on Sept 27,1980 in which his team was able to kill an enemy.
“Another challenge that I cannot forget is during our United Nations peacekeeping mission in Namibia from 1989 to 1990 where we also helped to liberate Namibia so that they could vote and choose the government because then, the governing government was from South Africa with their apartheid policy,” he added.
Meanwhile, Mohd Zaki said that it was an honour to have Abdul Rahim in the army because of his charisma, credibility and vast experiences in holding various important positions throughout his career.
Commenting on security, Mohd Zaki said the level of safety in Sabah and Sarawak was under control and would continue to be monitored in order to avoid any issue of aggression or unhealthy activity at the border.
“We are constantly working to improve and streamline the security of the land border and also the safety of the east coast of Sabah and so far with the good development in the south of the Philippines, we are constantly monitoring and always ready to prevent any intruders trying to infiltrate our country,” he explained.
The parade yesterday was participated by 15 officers and 280 members of different ranks led by 20th RAMD commanding officer Lt Col Azmi Ali, parade assistant Major Mohd Zahirin Zainol Abidin, Capt Mohd Shahrizal Abd Aziz and Warrant Officer I Baharudin Ismail, accompanied by First Division Combination Band under the leadership of drum major Warrant Officer II Azlee Abdullah.