Friday September 18, 2009
Scorpene boost for the navy
KOTA KINABALU: The arrival of Malaysia’s first submarine KD Tunku Abdul Rahman to its home base here will give a boost to the navy in patrolling the sea borders in the country.
“The presence of the Scorpene submarine is a deterrent for would-be perpetrators. It is an insurance factor in our defence system. It will be a force to be reckoned with,” Royal Malaysian Navy chief Laksamana Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Jaafar said.
“It’s not that we are unable to defend our country without it but with it, our enemies would think two or three times before they act against us,” he said, as the French-made vessel arrived at the Sepanggar naval base here yesterday morning.
The ceremony was graced by the Yang di-Pertua Negri Tun Ahmadshah Abdullah and Chief Minister Datuk Musa Aman, besides top military and state dignitaries.
Navy’s pride: KD Tunku Abdul Rahman docking at the Sepanggar naval base Thursday. The Scorpene submarine with its 32-member crew headed by Kept Zulhelmy Ithnain had completed a 8,537-nautical-mile journey in 54 days from Toulon in France to Kota Kinabalu after five stopovers, including in Lumut.
“It is historical for us as our submarine has finally reached home (base) for the first time,” he said, adding that it took seven days for its journey from Lumut to here.
The crew of KD Tunku Abdul Rahman, he said, would be given about three to four weeks off to spend time with their families before the submarine undergoes test runs in tropical waters and other missions.
On whether the submarine would be used in areas where there were overlapping claims between Malaysia and other countries, Laksamana Abdul Aziz said they would keenly protect Malaysian waters including areas like Turumbu Layang Layang, about 150 nautical miles off Kota Kinabalu.
To a question about overlapping claims for Ambalat, the admiral said both nations were in discussions and there was no necessity for any quarters to blow the matter out of proportion as he was confident that an amicable solution would be reached.
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