Did you know that Malaysia has a special reservist military unit trained to restore and safeguard disrupted nation’s electricity supply in times of crisis?
This reservist unit is the 70 Power Specialist Regiment, a specialized force in the Royal Engineers Regiment (RAJD), under the command of Malaysian Army.
Made up of engineers and technicians, many from Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) as Malaysia’s main utility including Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd (SESB), Sarawak Energy Berhad (SEB) and Independent Power Producers (IPPs), they are a voluntarily reservist force consisting of nearly 800 Malaysian men and women, who combine their civilian technical expertise with military preparedness and are always ready to be mobilised in times of crisis and emergencies.
History of 70 Power Specialist Regiment
The unit known today as 70 Power Specialist Regiment was first established through Malaysia’s federal government in 1963 (then the Federation of Malaya), with its origins in the Specialist Team Federation Engineers (Power Station Operation Detachment).
The newly-independent country had just come out of the Malayan Emergency, where government security forces fought a communist insurgency from 1948 to 1960.
The Detachment was among several other teams formed that year trained to handle in times of an emergency, the various public services in the country including the seaports, water supplies and railways.
At its formation, the Detachment consisted of four specialist teams namely 70, 71, 73 and 74 Specialist Team (Power), starting off with one officer and 17 personnel of various ranks.
Their role was to restore and operate electrical supply services throughout the newly-formed Federation during times of chaos, emergency or war, as well as provide combat engineering and other forms of support to the Malaysian Army.
As the years went by, the Detachment was later restructured to come under the direct command of the Territory Army’s Headquarters Royal Engineer Regiment Specialist, and would be officially classified as 70 Regiment in 1971, growing to have 41 officers and 370 personnel.
70 Power Specialist Regiment's Roles & Responsibilities
During times of war, these specialised engineers support the Malaysian Army by constructing roads, infrastructure, water supply systems, electrical networks and military camps.
In times of peace, the regiments assist civilian authorities such as the police and civil defence, providing their expertise during times of crisis such as natural disasters.
70 Power Specialist Regiment’s responsibilities are focused on matters of power supply, making sure that any interruptions to public electrical infrastructure are restored during a crisis.
A largely voluntarily reservist force, they are made up for the nation most knowledgeable experts in the electricity industry, with a current strength of 760 reservist consisting of 41 officers and 719 personnel of other ranks. They are also assisted by officers and personnel of other ranks from the Malaysian Army.
At the time of writing, 70 Power Specialist Regiment’s commander is TNB’s President and Chief Executive Officer, Honorary Colonel Datuk Ir. Megat Jalaluddin bin Megat Hassan, while the unit’s commanding officer is Lieutenant Colonel Dato’ Ir. Muhamad Nazri bin Pazil, Managing Director of TNB Genco.
The unit’s highest ranking officer holds the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, and their headquarters is at the Headquarters Royal Engineer Regiment Specialist base.
70 Power Specialist Regiment also consists of six squadrons, accounting for different locations around Malaysia:
Joining 70 Power Specialist Regiment
Becoming a member of the 70 Power Specialist Regiment is mark of distinction as even though it is on voluntary basis, the applicants will be carefully selected. As the guardian of electricity supply during emergencies and crisis, those in its ranks must have technical know-how and understanding of electricity supply system.
As such, its officers and personnel must come from the country’s electrical companies, namely: Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB), Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd (SESB), Sarawak Energy and the IPPs.
Within this category, entry to 70 Power Specialist Regiment is open to all Malaysian citizens of good health, aged between 18 to 45 years. However, becoming an officer requires the necessary academic qualifications and endorsement from Chief Engineer of the Malaysian Army’s.
Every year, 70 Power Specialist Regiment’s service members must undergo an annual training of 15 days to make sure that they are in a state of military readiness, with an additional 15 days should the need arise.
During this time, they will undergo periods of training including fitness, battle readiness, shooting practice and technical specialist activities involving operations and maintenance of generation, transmission and distribution of electricity.
Operations by 70 Power Specialist Regiment
In recent years, 70 Power Specialist Regiment has been mobilised on several occasions to provide its expertise and support during a number of operations in the country.
During Malaysia’s Covid-19 Movement Control Order (MCO), the Regiment was mobilised to provide TNB workforce with much-needed supplies including food and medical supplies.
When massive floods occurred in several states in Malaysia in 2021 and 2022, this regiment provided assistance to flood victims in Selangor as well as in Kedah and Kelantan.
This regiment also helped in restoring electricity supply that was disrupted in the state of Kelantan including clearing fallen debris such as trees caused by storm and restoring damaged electricity infrastructures.
The 70 Power Specialist Regiment also helped in providing security of supply during 2020 Sabah state election by airlifting standby mobile generators to the state.
Recently in February this year, members of the regiment assisted in restoration operation after a fire broke out at TNB’s Tuanku Jaafar Power Station in Port Dickson.
