The Royal Malaysian Armoured Corps had its beginning with two army units formed by the British Administration headed by General Sir Gerald Templer who had initiated the formation during the Malayan Emergency. On 1 September 1952, the 1st Battalion Federation Regiment (Affiliated to Royal Irish Fusiliers) and the Federation Armoured Car Regiment (Affiliated to 13th/18th Royal Hussars (QMO) now known as The Light Dragoons) was also formed. Both regiments were the first multi-racial infantry and armoured units in Malaya.
The Federation Regiment and The Federation Armoured Car Regiment were merged on 1 January 1960 to form the Federation Reconnaissance Corps. Units under the Corps on its formation were the 1st Regiment Federation Reconnaissance Corps and the 2nd Regiment Federation Reconnaissance Corps, commonly referred to as 1 Recce and 2 Recce respectively, and in Malay they were known as Rejimen Pertama Kor Peninjau Persekutuan (1 Peninjau) and Rejimen Kedua Kor Peninjau Persekutuan (2 Peninjau). Both units were equipped with scout cars namely the Ferret scout car, Daimler scout car and other British made armoured cars.
The corps was sent to Bosnia as part of the United Nations Protection Force (UNPROFOR) during the Bosnian War. The 3rd Regiment served as part of the Malaysian Battalion I (MALBATT I) from 1993 until it was relieved by the 2nd Regiment as part of MALBATT II. The 2nd Regiment were relieved in turn by the 1st Regiment as part of MALBATT III. Elements of the corps were involved again when the UNPROFOR was replaced by the Implementation Force (IFOR) and later Stabilisation Force in Bosnia and Herzegovina (SFOR) as part of the Malaysian Contingent (MALCON).[3]
A specialised Armoured ParachuteSquadron was formed on 12 September 1992 and organised under the 10th Paratrooper Brigade as part of the newly established Rapid Deployment Force, although it is also considered a constituent part of the Royal Armoured Corps. This squadron was equipped with Alvis Scorpion 90 light tanks[1] before the type was retired. It is unclear what vehicles the squadron is now equipped with.
The Royal Armoured Corps consists of five regiments, the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 11th Regiments, an Armoured Parachute Squadron, and the 21st Ceremonial Cavalry Squadron.
The 11th Regiment is the only regiment of the Royal Armoured Corps which operates the PT-91M "Pendekar" main battle tanks.
The museum aims to store for reference historical documents and artefacts of the Royal Armoured Corps, which has its Corps Home at the 2nd Royal Armoured Regiment, Sunggala Camp, Port Dickson.
