MALCON DISBANDED

KUANTAN (Pahang, Malaysia), Nov 4 (Bernama) -- Malcon East 5, the Malaysian
peacekeeping mission which served in Lebanon for nine months, was disbanded
Thursday.

The mission comprising 35 officers and 265 men were under the auspices of
Unifil, the UN Interim Force in Lebanon. The final batch of 200 returned home on
Oct 29.

Armed Forces Chief of Staff Lt Gen Raja Mohamed Affandi Raja Mohamed Noor said
that peacekeeping in other countries has given Malaysia invaluable experience in
facing future challenges.

Raja Affandi, who represented Chief of Defence Force Gen Azizan Ariffin at the
disbandment ceremony here, overseas missions had exposed the Malaysian armed
forces to all of circumstances that would help strengthen them.

Malcon East 5 was in Lebanon from January to help keep the peace necessary for
the war-ravaged country to rebuild.

Raja Affandi said the Lebanese government had expressed its gratitude to Malaysia.

He added: " I am glad that our armed forces have been tested and proven
themselves capable of operating in a mission and environment that are different
(from the usual)."
-- BERNAMA