Affendi Buang

Gender

Male

Born

21/08/1962

Nationalities

Malaysia

Tan Sri Dato’ Sri Haji Affendi Bin Haji Buang was a Malaysian Air Force General who served as the 21st Chief of Defence Forces.

Biography

General Tan Sri Hj Affendi bin Buang RMAF was born 21 August 1962 in Kuching, Sarawak. His early education was obtained in Kuching, Sarawak but in 1978, he was selected to further his secondary education at Royal Military College in Sungai Besi until completion of his Malaysian Certificate of Examination in 1979. 

General Tan Sri Dato' Sri Hj Affendi joined the Malaysian Armed Forces as an RMAF Officer Cadet in 1980 and received his basic training at the Officer Cadet School, Sebatang Kara, Port Dickson. In 1981, he was then selected to undergo Basic Flying Training at RMAF Alor Setar and upon completion, he was commissioned into the Royal Malaysian Air Force as a Second Lieutenant in 1982. Based on his knowledge, skill and attitude as well as temerity and maturity, General Tan Sri Dato' Sri Hj Affendi was posted to No 3 Flying Training Centre in RMAF Kuantan for his initial jet conversion on the MB-339A. Fron then on, his career as a fighter pilot took off with his subsequent Operational Conversion on the McDonnell Douglas A-4 Skyhawk at No 9 Sqn in October 1984 followed by his first operational tour on the A-4 Skyhawk at No 6 Sqn in June 1985. In recognition of his knowledge, skill and attitude as a fighter pilot, General Tan Sri Dato' Sri Haji Affendi was sent to his Instructor Pilot course in Jan 1988 at ILIT, RMAF Alor Setar and was subsequently posted back to No 9 Sqn in July 1988 as an Instructor Pilot on the A-4 Skyhawk

General Tan Sri Dato' Sri Hj Affendi was among the officers selected for the RMAF MiG-29 Project Team in 1994, which later become the MiG-29 RMAF Technical Team in Russia. Together with the former Chief of RMAF General Tan Sei Rodzali (Retired) and current Chief of RMAF Gen Dato' Sri Ackbal, General Tan Sri Hj Affendi was the pioneer cadres for the induction of the MiG-29 into RMAF operational capability and was instrumental in the knowledge transfer process for the build-up for the RMAF MiG-29 operational capabilities. General Tan Sri Dato' Sri Hj Affendi was also one of the founding members of the RMAF MiG-29 tactical aerobatics team popularly known as 'Smoket Bandits'. He later led the 'Smokey Bandits' during his tenure as the Commanding Officer of No 17/19 Sqn.

Throughtout his operational flying career, General Tan Sri Dato' Sri Affendi is a force to be reckoned with as a fighter pilot. He was actively involved in various air operations including flying Close Air Support and Battlefield Interdiction missions during the fight against communist insurgencyin the late 1980s. His operational tours on the A-4 Skyhawk and the MiG-29 also saw him routinely deployed to conduct patrols across Malaysia including Gugusan Semarang Peninjau (RMN's offshore stations in the South China Sea) and Malaysia Maritime Zones.

The knowledge, skill and attitude gained by General Tan Sri Dato' Sri Hj Affendi was further accentuated and enhanced by his experience at various staff and command positions at the tactical,operational and later strategic level. From 1997 to 2002, he was posted to No 1 Air Division, initially as Staff Officer 2 Standard s, Safety and Readiness and later as Staff Officer 1 Fighter Operations. In this capacity, General Tan Sri Dato' Sri Hj Affendi was responsible for the overall operational readiness and competency of the RMAF fighter aircrew. He was the entrusted with the command of No 17/19 Sqn from 2002 until 2004. In 2006, he took cpmmand as Commander of Butterworth Airbase until 2007, after which he was posted as Director of J5 (Contingencies and Plans) at the Joint Force Headquaters (Markas Angkatan Bersama)fron 2008 to 2009. In December  2009, he was promoted as Brigadier General RMAF and was appointed as the Director General of Operations and Exercise at RMAF Air Operations Command until end 2010. He the allocated a year studies in the United Kingdom.

Upon returning from his one year studies in the United Kingdom, General Tan Sri Dato' Sri Hj Affendi was posted back on September 2011 once again as the Director General for Operations and Exercises at the RMAF Air Operations Command and subsequently was promoted in that post as Major General RMAF In 2013. He was then promoted to Liutenant General RMAF in July 2014 and appointed as the Joint Force Headquarters. By the end 2014, General Tan Sri Dato' Sri Hj Affendi was appointed as the RMAF Chief of Air Operations (Panglima Operasi Udara). He served as the Air Operations Commander for about one year before he was appointed as the Deputy Chief of RMAF IN 2015. His distinguished careers culminated, on 21 Dec 2016, General Tan Sri Dato' Sri Hj Affendi bin Buang RMAF was promoted as General RMAF and took over command from General Tab Sri Dato' Sri Roslan bin Saad to become the 18th Chief of Royal Malaysian Air Force. General Tan Sri Dato'Sri Hj Affendi, reached the pinnacle of this career on the 2 Jan 20 when he was appointed to the helm and took over the Malaysia Armed Forces as the 21st Chief of Defences Forces from General Tan Sri Dato' Seri Panglima Hj Zulkifli bin Hj Zainal Abidin.

GENERAL Tan Sri Dato' Sri Hj Affendi is a proponent of lifelong learning and believes in the importance of gainning knowledge as a part increasing competency as well as proficiency in handling appointed tasks. Apart from his flying career courses, General Tan Sri Dato' Sri Hj Affendi attended the Malaysian Armed Forces Staff College (Maktab Turus Angkatan Tentera Malaysia(MTAT)) In 1997 and the Defences and Strategic Studies Course at the Centre for Defence and Strategic Studies (CDSS) Australia in 2005. General Tan Sri Dato' Sri Hj Affendi also undertook tertiary level studies to qualify himself as a holder of Master of Art (Strategic Studies) from Deakin University, Australia. As a part of the RMAF Senior Management and in recognition of his capacity, General Tan Sri Dato' Sri Hj Affendi was presented with the opportunity to gain knowledge, experience and networking at the Royal College of Defence Studies (RCDS) London in 2011. 

In recognition of his service for the country General Tan Sri Dato' Sri Hj Affendi was conferred several medals and awards by the Federal and State Government as well as the Malaysian Armed Forces. Apart from the services medals, he was among the handful of officers awarded the Pingat Tentera Udara (PTU) or the Air Force Medal, which is awarded to a Royal Malaysian Air Force aircrew for gallantry in performing flying duties. He was conferred several military honour medal including the Kesatria Angkatan Tentera(KAT), Pahlawan Angkatan Tentera(PAT), Panglima Setia Angkatan Tentera (PSAT) and Panglima Gagah Angkatan Tentera(PGAT). General Tan Sri Dato' Sri Hj Affendi was also bestowed by Duli Yang Maha Mulia the Sultan of Pahang , Ahli Mahkota Pahang (AMP), Setia Ahmad Shah Pahang (SAP), Darjah Indera Mahkota Pahang(DIMP) with the honorific Dato' and Sri Sultan Ahmad Shah Pahang (SSAP), which carries the title Dato' Sri. General Tan Sri Dato' Sri Hj Affendi was also bestowed by Duli Yang Maha Mulia the Sultan Muhammad V, Kesatria Mahkota Kelantan Yang Amat Perkasa (SPKK). General Tan Sri Dato' Sri Hj Affendi was also bestowed by Panglima Setia Mahkota (PSM) by the Duli Yang Maha Mulia Seri Paduka Baginda Yang di-Pertuan Agong, which carries the honorific title Tan Sri. He has also been bestowed the Darjah Kebesaran Pangkuan Negeri (DPPN) by the Tuan Yang Terutama Pulau Pinang. 

General Tan Sri Dato' Sri Hj Affendi bin Buang RMAF is married Yang Amat Mulia Tengku Puteri Seri Teja Puan Seri Hjh Tengku Muhaini binti Al-Marhum Sultan Hj Ahmad Shah.

Notes

Picture and biography was taken from his profile page MAFHQ website

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