This unit performs as a high-level national Police Tactical Unit , providing 24 hours close protection to high ranking government executives and their spouse , and the unit 's members also undertake undercover missions . UTK operators are specially trained to intervene in high-risk events like hostage and barricade situations by hostile forces , especially terrorists and/or criminals . UTK is the Malaysia 's oldest and most experienced unit in dealing with counter-terrorism . UTK is equivalent to combination of German Federal Police GSG 9 and the U.S. Secret Service . Founded on 1 January 1975 , UTK is the brainchild of then Inspector-General of Police Tun Hanif Omar . They were also deployed in the first mission during the Japanese Red Army ( ; Rōmaji : '' Nihon Sekigun '' ) hostage incident on 5 August 1975 when the terrorists held approximately 50 civilians including members of the US consulate and the Swedish '' chargé d'affaires '' as hostages within the AIA building housing several embassies in Kuala Lumpur , two years after the massacre of Israeli hostages in Munich , West Germany by the Palestinian Black September army group in 1973 . The terrorists won the release of five imprisoned comrades and flew with them to Libya
massacre of Israeli hostages in Munich
Munich massacre
Special Actions Unit (Malaysia)