DEFENCE WHITE PAPER Squadron, was developed and equipped to carry out counter-insurgency operations against the Malayan Communist Party (MCP). The Royal Malayan Navy was then still a rudimentary naval force. The Royal Federation Air Force was created on 2 June 1958, after independence. 35. Following the formation of the Federation of Malaysia on 16 September 1963 when Malaya merged with Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore (Singapore separated from the Federation in August 1965), the Malayan Armed Forces became the Malaysian Armed Forces. Given the nature of threats posed by the insurgency and Konfrontasi, the development of the MAF in the earliest decades was focused largely on land-based operations. 36. The MAF’s capability development efforts are well articulated in several key documents, primarily the Malaysian Armed Forces (MAF)’s Capability Development Plan known as the Fourth Dimension Malaysian Armed Forces, 4D MAF. 37. Over the subsequent decades, each of the three Services of the MAF has grown in size and functions. Each has continuously sought to enhance its defence capacity through effective use of land, sea and air power. Efforts to develop a Joint Forces Command (JFC) started when the Malaysian Armed Forces Headquarters (MAF HQ) was established in 1992. The Joint Forces Headquarters (JFHQ) was eventually launched in 2004, thereby institutionalising the jointness concept where the three Services jointly perform functions in terms of governance and operational control. The JFHQ is entrusted with all the joint exercises, joint and combined operations as well as multinational operations. 15