Chief of Army Raja Mohamed Affandi Raja Mohamed Noor has been appointed to take over as the Chief of Defence Forces on Dec 16, Defence Minister Hishammuddin Hussein announced today.

He said current Chief of Defence Forces Zulkifeli Mohd Zin would take his accumulated annual leave and undergo transition training from that date.

Zulkifeli’s application to extend his service for 12 months beyond the mandatory retirement age, from June 14, 2016, to June 13, 2017, has been approved by the Armed Forces Council, he said.

He also said that the council also approved Raja Mohamed Affandi’s extension of service for 12 months beyond the mandatory retirement age, from June 20, 2017, to June 19, 2018.

Hishammuddin said the decisions on the matter were adopted at the 548th meeting of the Armed Forces Council on May 23, and the appointments and extensions of service were consented to by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Tuanku Abdul Halim Mu’adzam Shah.

- Bernama