| Hakim Hayat |
WITH the consent of His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah ibni Al-Marhum Sultan Haji Omar ‘Ali Saifuddien Sa’adul Khairi Waddien, Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam, Minister of Defence and Supreme Commander of the Royal Brunei Armed Forces (RBAF), Brigadier General (U) Dato Seri Pahlawan Haji Hamzah bin Haji Sahat has taken over the reins as the Commander of the Royal Brunei Air Force (RBAirF) from Brigadier General (U) Dato Seri Pahlawan Shahril Anwar bin Haji Ma’awiah.
At a Change of Command Parade held at the Rimba Air Force Base yesterday, the outgoing Commander of RBAirF received the honorary salute and proceeded to inspect the guard of honour mounted by 109 RBAirF personnel, led by Major (U) Pengiran Mohammad Azizul bin Pengiran Mohammad Yussof. The parade was witnessed by senior officers, officers, airmen, airwomen and non-uniformed personnel of the RBAirF.
In his speech as the outgoing 13th Commander of the RBAirF, Brigadier General (U) Dato Seri Pahlawan Shahril Anwar expressed his utmost gratitude towards His Majesty for the trust bestowed upon him during his three-year tenure as Commander of RBAirF. He also extended his appreciation to all members of the RBAirF for their support throughout his service.
Emphasising that human resource is important and critical to the development of a credible organisation, the outgoing commander highlighted three traits – honesty, trust, and loyalty – that are essential for every member of the force to build up a strong RBAirF anchored on its core values.
A signing ceremony for the handover of duties was later held between the outgoing RBAirF Commander and the new RBAirF Commander, which marked the official handover, before the recitation of Doa Selamat and the farewell honorary salute.
The ceremony proceeded with the new Commander of RBAirF receiving the honourary salute and inspecting the guard of honour followed by his inaugural speech as the 14th Commander of the RBAirF.
In his speech, the new RBAirF Commander conveyed his utmost gratitude towards His Majesty for entrusting him with the responsibility as the new commander of the air force. He also thanked Brigadier General (U) Dato Seri Pahlawan Shahril Anwar for his contributions in developing the RBAirF as it is today.
The new commander also emphasised the importance of teamwork, commitment and discipline as well as the spiritual values based on the Malay Islamic Monarchy (MIB) philosophy.
The new RBAirF commander then ushered Brigadier General (U) Dato Seri Pahlawan Shahril Anwar to a tree-planting ceremony witnessed by officers of the RBAirF.
Bidding farewell, Brigadier General (U) Dato Seri Pahlawan Shahril Anwar marched together with the officers, airmen and airwomen of the RBAirF to the Air Movement Centre prior to his final flight on a Blackhawk helicopter.
Enlisting into the Royal Brunei Armed Forces in 1986, Brigadier General (U) Dato Seri Pahlawan Shahril Anwar has dedicated 32 years of his life serving the RBAirF with distinction.
He started his operational flying career at No 1 Squadron, Operations Wing (now known as 11 Squadron, No 1 Wing).
He has also received notable appointments during his service such as Commanding Officer (CO) of Training Wing (now known as No 7 Wing) in the RBAirF, Defence Adviser of Brunei Darussalam to Malaysia and Director of Force Capability Development, prior to becoming Deputy Commander of RBAirF and eventually, Commander of RBAirF. On August 10, 2018, by the command of His Majesty, he was appointed as Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Defence.
Prior to his new appointment, Brigadier General (U) Dato Seri Pahlawan Haji Hamzah held the position of Joint Force Commander of the RBAF since 2014.
He joined in 1988 and graduated from Initial Officer Training from Royal Air Force (RAF) Cranwell, United Kingdom.
During the course of his military career, he has served, among others, as Officer Commanding (OC) of the Flying Training School (FTS), Commanding Officer (CO) of Operation Wing and Chief of Staff of Joint Force Headquarters.