THE Ministry of Defence has formally received a letter of early retirement from former Malaysian Army chief Tan Sri Muhammad Hafizuddeain Jantan, effective Jan 1, Defence Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin said on Monday.
Mohamed Khaled said he was informed of the request through a letter submitted by the former Army chief’s lawyer while Muhammad Hafizuddeain was on leave.
“With the application for early retirement, this enables the Ministry of Defence to begin the process of identifying a replacement candidate for the post of Chief of the Malaysian Armed Forces,” he said during a press conference after delivering the Defence Minister’s 2026 New Year Address at Wisma Perwira here.
Mohamed Khaled explained that the Armed Forces Council had previously decided to appoint Muhammad Hafizuddeain as Chief of the Malaysian Armed Forces, but the decision was put on hold due to an ongoing case involving him.
“As we are aware, the Armed Forces Council had earlier decided that he would be appointed as Chief of the Malaysian Armed Forces. However, that decision was deferred because of the case he is facing,” he said.
“The decision for him to assume the post, which was supposed to take effect on Jan 1 this year, was not implemented and was postponed because of the case,” he added.
Mohamed Khaled said that with the early retirement taking effect from Jan 1, the post of Chief of the Malaysian Armed Forces is now officially vacant.
He said the position is currently being filled on an acting basis by Royal Malaysian Navy chief Admiral Tan Sri Zulhelmy Ithnain.
“Now the process of finding a new Chief of the Malaysian Armed Forces will begin, whereby the Armed Forces Council will submit its recommendation to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong for royal consent,” he said.
“This process will take time. That is also among the reasons he applied for early retirement, to allow us to fill the position of Chief of the Malaysian Armed Forces,” Mohamed Khaled added.
On Dec 27, Mohamed Khaled had said Muhammad Hafizuddeain would go on immediate leave to allow authorities to conduct investigations into certain allegations previously reported.
Earlier media reports said the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission had begun investigations in 2023 into several projects involving the Malaysian Army.
The investigations are understood to be focused on projects carried out through open tender procurement methods as well as procurements under the Army’s responsibility centres. - January 12, 2026
