LUMUT: KD Laksamana Tun Abdul Jamil, KD Laksamana Tan Pusmah, and KD Pendekar were officially decommissioned in full military traditions on Thursday (June 5) at the Royal Malaysian Navy base here.
Present were Navy Chief Admiral Tan Sri Dr Zulhelmy Ithnain, as well as 37 former commanding officers of the three ships.
The highlight of the ceremony was the symbolic striking of the ship’s bell and the lowering of the commissioning pennant, marking the official end of service for the three vessels, each of which had played a significant role in safeguarding the nation’s maritime sovereignty.
KD Laksamana Tun Abdul Jamil, a corvette from the 24th Corvette Squadron (SKK-24), was built in Italy in 1982 and commissioned into RMN service on July 28, 1997. Over the course of its service, it sailed a total of 486,487.1 nautical miles.
KD Laksamana Tan Pusmah, also a corvette from the same squadron, was commissioned on July 31, 1999, and had sailed a total of 315,907.6 nautical miles.
Meanwhile, KD Pendekar, a vessel from the First Fast Attack Craft Squadron (FAC 1), was launched on Nov 11, 1978, and commissioned into Navy service on Aug 21, 1979. It recorded an impressive total of 820,077.64 nautical miles sailed.
In his speech, Zulhelmy said the three ships had been the backbone of Malaysia’s maritime operations for decades, including during Op Kekal Warisan, Op Pejarak and Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) patrols.
He added that the acquisition of new assets such as the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) and the Littoral Mission Ship Batch 2 (LMSB2) is planned to replace the decommissioned vessels. - Bernama
