Brunei general gets top military award in Singapore
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President Halimah Yacob with Major-General (Udara) Dato Seri Pahlawan Haji Hamzah Haji Sahat, former commander of the Royal Brunei Armed Forces, at the Istana yesterday. Maj-Gen (U) Dato Hamzah received the Darjah Utama Bakti Cemerlang (Tentera), or Distinguished Service Order (Military).
The former commander of the Royal Brunei Armed Forces has been conferred Singapore's top military award for his work in strengthening defence ties between Singapore and Brunei.
Major-General (Udara) Dato Seri Pahlawan Haji Hamzah Haji Sahat, who is in Singapore for a visit until tomorrow, received the Darjah Utama Bakti Cemerlang (Tentera), or Distinguished Service Order (Military), from President Halimah Yacob at the Istana yesterday.
Previous awardees of the honour include the Chief of the Australian Defence Force, General Angus Campbell, and the Chief of the Malaysian Armed Forces, General Tan Sri Dato' Sri Haji Affendi Buang.
Maj-Gen (U) Dato Hamzah was recognised for his leadership in bilateral exercises such as Exercise Maju Bersama, Exercise Pelican and Exercise Airguard.
He was also instrumental to the collaboration of the Singapore and Brunei militaries through professional exchanges, training visits and the cross-attendance of courses.
Maj-Gen (U) Dato Hamzah also supported fostering practical cooperation through multilateral platforms, the Ministry of Defence said.
These include the Asean Defence Ministers' Meeting (ADMM) and ADMM-Plus, the ADMM-Plus Experts' Working Group on Military Medicine, which Brunei is co-chairing with Australia from 2021 to 2024, and the Counter-Terrorism Information Facility.
He also led the Royal Brunei Armed Forces to host the virtual 18th Asean Chiefs of Defence Forces' Meeting in March last year.
The general also received the Pingat Jasa Gemilang (Tentera), or the Meritorious Service Medal (Military), in December 2020.
Shermaine Ang
