Malek Razak Sulaiman

Malek Razak bin Sulaiman was born in Batu Pahat, Johor, Malaysia. He holds a Diploma in Strategy and Security from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), a Master of Arts in Defence Studies from King’s College London, and a Master of Social Science (Defence Studies) from UKM.

Malek Razak joined the Malaysian Army as an Overseas Officer Cadet at the Royal Military College, Sandhurst in the United Kingdom in 1985 and he was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant on 11 December 1987. He later began his career as a platoon commander at the 21st Battalion, Royal Malay Regiment.^[6]

Malek Razak held various key command positions in the Malaysian Army, primarily in infantry units within the Western Field Army, which includes being the Commanding Officer of the 25th Battalion, Royal Malay Regiment, the Brigade Commander of the 2nd Infantry Brigade and the Division Commander of the 5th Infantry Division. His expertise in operations and training operations was later strengthened through his appointments at headquarters-level commands such as the Assistant Chief of Staff, Army Operations and Training and the Assistant Chief of Staff, Defence Operations and Training, Malaysian Armed Forces Headquarters before being entrusted as the Commander of the Western Field Army of the Malaysian Army.

On 1 February 2026, Malek Razak was promoted from the rank Lieutenant-General to a full General upon his appointment as the 24th Chief of the Malaysian Armed Forces, thus assuming the highest responsibility to lead the Malaysian Armed Forces.^[1][3][5] His appointment to the post was seen as an aim to revive public trust in the military and uphold institutional credibility while navigating through a complex security landscape.^[6] He also vowed to enforce a "total clean up" in the military and would not tolerate any forms of breaches in his leadership.^[7]

Malek Razak is married to Siti Juana binti Md Ibrahim and they have three children. He enjoys reading, playing sports and practicing a healthy lifestyle.