Treasuring The Malay Family Recipes

Even though there have been many Malay recipe books published and most are in Malay, I fear that these mostly concentrate on basic Malay dishes that keeps being repeated in new cookbooks that to me makes them run of the mill. It is as if hot Malay dishes are limited to just a few select familiar dishes, like rendang and nasi lemak. The fact is that count dishes from the individual states and Malay ethnicity, you can actually easily find a different thousand dishes alone, and that does not include an individual family's take on the dish. The more unfamiliar in general dishes like my family's besamah and gulai daun ubi tumbuk are the ones that risks the most of being forgotten, if the collection of recipes in the Malaysia family that usually rely on agak-agak measurement or guesstimates dies out with the older generation, possibly leaving us with the knowledge of making only generic Malay dishes.

Thus I am heartened by the fact there now seems to be a movement to publish treasured family recipes in order to keep them for posterity. I believe this was initially started by members of the Royal families as a way to share royal kitchen recipes with the masses, though since they are mostly published as expensive coffee table books I wonder how many of us from the masses could actually afford the cook book. Nonetheless a more affordable book from our first Prime Minister kitchen started the ball rolling although the latest Selera Perdana is yet published as an expesive coffee book again, and we now see ordinary families archiving their kitchen legacies in print, be it in the Malaysian languange, bi-lingual or even English.

Being one family's collection of recipes, these cookbooks usually reflect their author's family ethnic or state origins, like the cookbook " A taste of Batu Gajah" that is close to my own family's heritage and heart. The underlying thread that passes through this book and two others that are now in my collection, namely Nostalgia Bonda and Resipi Bonda, with Bonda being the formal name for mother in Malay is that these are actually a collection of the family matriarch's recipes. Thus in a sense all of us get a chance to share in a mother's homecooking through such surrogate memoirs.

So my advice to those interested to purchase such a book of malay recipes, it is better to buy these simpler publications than those published as coffee table books, as these collection of family treasures prepared from a mother's heart, as a buah tangan even though we may not actually get to taste their air tangan.

Kenapalah Gamaknya?

Aku tak tahulah tapi dah beberapa kali dah bebudak sekolah tahfiz datang berjumpa aku nak jual barang untuk pembiayaan atau minta sumbangan untuk pembelajaran mereka, termasuk yang terbaru ni. Apsal kalau nak jadi tokoh agama ni nampaknya kena mengalami kehidupan dhaif, perlu mengemis ke sana sini macam sami2 agama lain. Tak boleh ke jadi macam aku pernah tengok dalam sinetron Indon seorang ulama yang berkelana sebenarnya hartawan yang membawa derma ke pelusuk daerah bagi pihak yayasan dakwahnya, sedangkan orang kampung mensyakinya sebagai orang miskin yang sanggup mencuri untuk pembiayaan hidup. Apsal tak leh jadi macam Saidina Abu Bakar atau Saidina Umar yang jadi contoh hartawan Islam untuk menjadi tokoh Islam? Hakikatnya dari pandangan mata kasar aku kebanyakan bebudak ni bukannya terdiri dari golongan kurang kemampuan, bahkan aku rasa keluarga mereka sebenarnya mampu nak membantu sebanyak mana pun. Kalau tidakpun baitulmal-baitulmal kat negara ni yang dilaporkan melimpah ruah harta wakaf sepatutnya boleh membantu jika diminta memberi bantuan, jadi kenapa tidak meminta bantuan daripada pihak yang sepatutnya?

Bukan apa dari pengamatan aku juga bebudak sekolah tahfiz anjuran NGO yang berwibawa macam Perkim yang ada sebuah kat kejiranan aku tak ada dan tak perlu pun membuat kerja mengemis ni. Depa rilek aja mengalami kehidupan sebagai bebudak sekolah asrama, cuma perlu belajar dan menghafal apa yang sepatutnya dan lepas tu boleh beriadah dan menjalankan ibadah yang sepatutnya mereka jalankan. Dan pengamatan aku juga menunjukkan bebudak yang mengemis ini biasanya datang dari sekolah agama/tahfiz/pondok swasta yang sebenarnya dikerah untuk dipergunakan sebagai jurujual percuma barangan pihak swasta itu, tak kisahlah kopi kuat ke, vcd agama ke apakebendanya pun. Jadi bila gamaknya mereka tu nak mentelaah untuk menjadi seorang tokoh agama, sedangkan waktu2 terluang seperti waktu petang/cuti mereka keluar berkeliaran di pusat-pusat awam, R&R lebuhraya maupun zoo negara.

Bila agaknya pihak berwajib nak menyiasat dan membendung gejala ini sedangkan aku masih ingat tak berapa lama dulu ada kejadian kemalangan jalanraya di mana dua tiga bebudak ini maut dalam perjalanan pulang dari tugasan luaran ini sedangkan ibubapa mereka tak tau menahu pun anak-anak mereka kena lakukan tugasan ini. Jadi kecohlah sekejap mak bapak bebudak sekolah itu minta pihak berwajib siasat kenapa anak-anak mereka dipergunakan tanpa kebenaran mereka, tapi seperti biasa senyap aja tanpa konklusi maupun resolusi. Yang pasti kegiatan ini masih berleluasa, dan aku pun menulis dalam bahasa melayu ni pun fasal malu tak mau masyarakat antarabangsa terhidu benda mengaibkan ini, dan napak gayanya sampai kesudahlah masalah ini tidak dapat diatasi. Bagi aku senang aja, bebudak ni aku tak layan pun walaupun sedih melihat kehampaan mereka sebagai cara pembedungan aku tersendiri, aku cuma derma terus kepada organisasi yang datang ke surau atau masjid, fasal aku pasti yang ini telah diperiksa dahulu keperluan mereka dan bukan untuk menjadi habuan mereka yang rakus dan tak malu menggunakan agama untuk kepentingan sendiri.

Remembering Raya Pasts!

As today is the last weekend for the Hari Raya Open House season and also Diwali for our Indian friends, I guess its time for me to comment a bit on what is written in this article reminiscing on how we celebrated Hari Raya in the past. I guess this is more poignant for me as I have just lost my uncle and godfather who acted as my surrogate father for my absentee parents in Ipoh who usually helped us get prepared for the festivals before they returned home for the holidays.

One practise that seems to be dying out is the lighting of oil lamps or Panjut in Malay that usually starts on Malam Tujuh Likur, or the the 27th Ramadhan night, that is usually associated with Lailatul Qadr night in Malay society. Back in Ipoh, I remember going around Kampong Manjoi where the villagers had an ongoing tradition of "panjut wars" where they famously had different neighbourhoods coming together to come up with oil lamp displays made of bamboo, wood and of course oil lamps that can rival any Christmas light display with the twinkling commercial crap. It was a great sight to behold the villagers creative arches of twinkling lights like fireflies flickering in the night that came from oil lamps, with an ethereal glow from the smoke. I am not sure if this practise continues as after a few years our family ourselves gave up on this practise as it is actually quite difficult nowadays to purchase the needed kerosen to light up the lamps.

Another practise that I feel has become a memory is the exchange of cookie platters between the households in the neighbourhood, regardless of race that was practised not only during Hari Raya but in all the major festivals. It was great to receive the trays of peanut cookies, Menglembu ground nuts, murukku and Ladhoo during Chinese New and Diwali, but the greatest anticipation was when the cookie platter either in tiffin, trays or plastic containers were returned and was opened. The minimum you could expect is some sugar as it was considered impolite to return an empty container, but your eyes twinkled when the neighbour with the favoured cookies returned it fully ladened with the same as you could now indulge,that you could not do during the house visit as politeness dictates. But then I guess this practise has now evolved where instead of exchanging such cookie trays, you now brought them to the office to be offered at your desk or the pantry for your colleagues to partake in.

There are other practises that include open houses as it was done then where the house was thrown open to visitors at any time instead of an appointed day nowadays that I would like to write about, but god willing let those be the written when the next Hari Raya comes around.

Beef Rendang Heritage

It has been awhile since I blogged but basically I have been distracted by another internet application but I'll blog about that later. Nonetheless after reading this article in The Star, I just had to comment on it so that I can save some of the recipes for posterity. These are some of the recipes from the article that I like that I would like to feature here;


Kerutub Daging (Kelantan)

Peculiar to Kelantan and also its neighbour, Terengganu, this is a dish that is prepared in most homes for Hari Raya. With fork-tender meat that has been cooked in a special blend of spices, the kerutub is especially good with nasi minyak and other rice dishes, and even plain white rice.

1kg beef, chicken or lamb (washed and cut as desired)
200g shallots (finely sliced)
150g rempah kerutub
50g dried chillies – blended

Slice finely:

2 cloves garlic
2.5cm ginger
1.5cm galangal (lengkuas)
5 stalks lemongrass (serai)

Spices - cinnamon stick, star anise and cardamon

Kerisik (toasted coconut) from ½ coconut

300ml coconut cream
2 cups water
1 cup cooking oil
1 tbsp palm sugar
Salt to taste

In a wok, heat the cooking oil, then fry the ingredients that have been finely sliced with the spices. When the ingredients are a little crisp, add the rempah kerutub and a little water. When the oil rises to the surface, add the meat and cook for a while.

Add the remaining water and let the dish simmer until the meat is tender. Add the coconut cream, palm sugar, salt and kerisik and cook until it is a little dry and the oil rises again.

Opor Daging (Pahang)

Opor Daging (otherwise just Opor) is a traditional dish from the royal town of Pekan in Pahang. It has its origins in the Riau Islands and was traditionally made using buffalo meat, which gives the cooked dish a dark colour. The meat, when cooked, has a rich red tint.

It is usually served at weddings and major functions and the most authentic version is still served at the Sultan Abu Bakar Palace in Pekan. The spices are easily available in Pahang and though there are many different producers, the ones made in Pekan are the best.

1kg beef
40g opor spices
80g pounded fried grated coconut
200ml coconut milk
40g garlic
120g onion
40g lemongrass
40g galangal
40g ginger
20g dried chillies
2 pieces cardamom
3cm cinnamon
2 pieces star anise
2 pieces dry tamarind
80ml palm sugar
1 cup cooking oil
1 cup water
Salt to taste

Cut the beef into chunky pieces. Blend the ginger, lemongrass, onion, garlic, dry chilli and galangal.

Heat the oil and fry the blended ingredients, opor spices, cinnamon, cardamom and star anise until golden brown. Add water and coconut milk and stir well.

Add the beef, pounded fried grated coconut, palm sugar, salt and seasoning, chicken stock and dried tamarind. Stir occasionally for about 15 minutes and simmer until the meat is cooked through.

Rendang Tok

Rendang Tok is a very dark, dry beef rendang famous throughout Perak. It has the most extensive list of ingredients and is believed to be created by royal cooks who had the means to acquire spices normally out of the reach of the general populace. Indian influences can be seen in the addition of spices used in curries. One of the unique characteristics of Rendang Tok is that it contains shards of dry-fried coconut flesh. This gives it an extra lemak taste. You must take your time to enjoy this rendang and not cast aside the floss-like stuff sticking to the beef. Instead, roll it on the tongue and feel it melting in the mouth, leaving behind a taste of galangal, lemongrass, gula Melaka and … dark chocolate! Perak also has a simpler rendang dish, the Rendang Pedas, which is similar to Rendang Johor – minus the belacan.

50g cumin
50g coriander seeds
40g fennel seeds

Spice paste

150g shallots
100g galangal, sliced
30g ginger, sliced
30g fresh turmeric root, sliced
40g dried red chillies, seeded and soaked
40g garlic
100ml oil
5cm cinnamon stick
4 star anise
10 cloves
30g black peppercorns, crushed
1kg beef, cut into cubes
1 litre thick coconut milk
3 stalks lemongrass, crushed
1 tsp sugar or to taste
2 tsp salt or to taste
250g freshly grated coconut, dry roasted and pounded to make kerisik
200g coconut shavings, dry-roasted until lightly browned
2 turmeric leaves, roughly torn

In a dry wok or pan, fry the coriander seeds, fennel seeds and cumin separately until aromatic. Grind all the seeds together until powdery. Set aside.

Blend the spice paste ingredients finely.

Heat the oil in a wok over low heat. Fry the cinnamon, star anise and cloves until fragrant. Add the spice paste, peppercorns and the ground coriander seeds, fennel seeds and cumin. Cook, stirring, until fragrant – about five to 10 minutes.

Add the beef, coconut milk and crushed lemongrass. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until gravy is thick and beef is tender. Season to taste with sugar and salt. Add the kerisik, toasted coconut shavings and turmeric leaves. Lower heat and cook, stirring continuously, until rendang is dry and oil appears.

Rendang Paru
This is a typical dish in Padang, Indonesia, that is usually eaten during Ramadan. Although the recipe may not be elaborate, bear in mind that it takes quite a long time to cook so make sure you have enough time for this. The dish goes really well with white rice. Squirt some lime juice for an extra zing.

Ingredient A

600g paru (lungs) boiled
100g liver, boiled and grated
1500ml coconut cream from two and a half coconuts
2 lemongrass (only the white section), crushed
2 turmeric leaves
4 kaffir lime leaves, shredded
3 asam jawa
2 salam leaves
2cm ginger

Ingredient B

10 dried red chillies
4 red chillies
5 red onions
2 salam leaves
2 cloves garlic
6cm lengkuas
2cm ginger
3½ tbsp salt
2 tbsp red sugar

Boil the paru in 1 litre of water. Add in 2 salam leaves and 2cm ginger until they are cooked. Put aside.

Boil the coconut cream, Ingredient B, 2 turmeric leaves, 4 kaffir lime leaves and 3 asam jawa until they are fully boiled. Add in the paru mix and put the fire on low. Leave to cook until half dry then add in the liver. Stir until it is completely dry. This recipe is for seven portions.

Nonetheless I wondered why only beef based rendangs were featured. What happened to the chicken rendangs that I am sure are also prepared differently in each state, as I am sure that Perak's chicken rendang and Negeri Sembilan Green Rendang are definitely different from eah other. That I guess will be a topic for a later posting.

Practise Makes Perfect!

It is good to have maritime warfare exercise with foreign armed forces and during the week before Merdeka the Royal Malaysian Navy and the Royal Australian Navy conducted a combined maritime warfare exercise in the Malacca Straits called MASTEX 7/2009 . Malaysian navy ships KD Lekiu, KD Laksamana Hang Nadim and KD Mutiara joins their Australian counterparts Adelaide Class Frigate HMAS Darwin and Replenishment ship HMAS Success for the week long exercises. According the Joint Press Release by FOC RMN,this exercise is conducted annually and in this year it will start at Lumut Naval Base, for the Harbour Phase and the Closing Phase will be conducted in Port Klang. Last year it was held in the waters off Darwin Australia with the Adelaide Class Frigate HMAS Melbourne with an embarked Seahawk helicopter and Armidale Class Patrol Boat HMAS Maryborough, alongside Royal Malaysian Navy ship KD Jebat with a Super Lynx helicopter.

The bilateral exercise will provide the opportunity for both maritime powers to improve their interoperability and mutual understanding in common aspects of naval warfare. HMAS Darwin will also demonstrate the Royal Australian Navy's damage control and fire-fighting lessons learnt from recent work-ups and operational deployments. It is hoped by jointly practising maritime security exercises and anti-surface, anti-air and anti-submarine warfare techniques, the Navies of Malaysia and Australia will improve their effectiveness for any common taskings in the future.

A good week for our military

This has been a good week for our military as we received the last of our SU-30 MKM's to complete our first MRCA squadron, the arrival of our first submarine KD Tunku Abdul Rahman in Malaysian waters that was royally welcomed by our Agong and finally a report that says the contract for our CSAR Helicopter EC725 Cougar will finally be signed during the LIMA show this December. This is in addition to additional submarine purchase to be made under the 13th or 14th Malaysian Plan.

Even though the Defence Minister has said that his ministry is asking for a smaller allocation from the next national budget, it shows that capital purchases for Malaysian Defence will not be neglected. In fact there are rumours that the MIG-29N replacement aircraft purchase will be announced during the LIMA show, that will be break the mould in the type of aircraft and the numbers purchase. Befitting the fact that our new Armed Forces Chief is now from the RMAF isn't it?

Kasturi Class SLEP Contracted

Credit : Huskers of Cari Forum

Further to my earlier post, I am glad that the SLEP for the Kasturi class frigates are finally contracted, especially since KD Kasturi has been stripped in readiness for the SLEP to commence. Hopefully after the modernisation, the Kasturis will finally revert to her true role as a frigate rather than a corvette as some currently classify the class.

August 12, 2009 18:40 PM

Boustead Unit Gets RM 703.823 Million Contract From Defence Ministry


KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 12 (Bernama) -- Boustead Holdings Bhd has been awarded a contract worth RM703.823 million from the Defence Ministry to undertake the Service Life Extension Programme of Kasturi Class Corvettes.

The contract, received by its subsidiary Boustead Naval Shipyard Sdn Bhd, is for an implementation period of 53 months, it said in a filing to Bursa Malaysia here today.

Boustead Holdings said the contract will not have a material effect on earnings for the financial year ending December 31, 2009, but will contribute positively to the future earnings of the group.

-- BERNAMA

Second Phase Sea Trials For Tun Razak

Recently, only news on KD Tun Abdul Rahman has dominated the local news. According to this Spanish news release, The second Malaysian Scorpene Submarine, Tun Razak, has now been returned to the water after being dry-docked for two months. It is expected that she will continue with her second phase of sea trials early next month that will continue until early October. The official handing over ceremony of the submarine to the Royal Malaysian Navy is reportedly planned for the end of October.

First Sea Trials of Malaysian Submarine “Tun Razak”
Tue, Feb 17, 2009

Navantia began sea trials in waters off Cartagena of the second Scorpene submarine that the consortium formed by the French company DCNS and NAVANTIA is building for the Royal Malaysian Navy, and which had been christened ‘Tun Razak’.

The aim of this sortie was to commence checks on the operation of the different equipment that has been installed on the submarine. This first phase of trials will last until the end of April.

After a subsequent period of approximately 3 months during which the submarine will be in dry dock for routine maintenance work, the second phase of sea trials will be performed until October 25 of this year, the date scheduled for delivery of the Tun Razak to the Royal Malaysian Navy

Based on the earlier report above, it seems that the second Scorpene progress is going well and is on schedule. In this case it may be possible Tun Razak will taste the salty waters of our nation before the end of the year instead of March 2010 as initially expected. Looks like this year seems to be a busy year of inducting new assets to the fleet for the navy, with the commissioning of two Kedah class patrol vessels and the submarines.

No Longer 27 Units Is It?

On the day I beseeched here for the Government to continue with the building of additional patrol vessels for the Royal Malaysian Navy, the Prime has responded in this Bernama article that as expected this will depend on the affordability of the Government to continue the program despite the Ministry of Defence intention to continue. However what caught my attention is this is the first time it was officially stated that the number of units may now end at 18 units instead of the 27 units planned at the beginning of the program. This actually makes sense since the patrol vessels are being stationed at three different naval bases regionally, so to have three squadrons of six vessels each to patrol the area would be good enough.

I would rather use the savings from the deletion of the additional nine units to complete our frigate squadron to six, be it the same design as the existing frigates or of new designs. This is because however you may want the navy to be strengthened, additional patrol units is not the answer as no matter how you look at it, the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency is actually being well equipped to undertake the intermediate and coastal patrol duties by getting their own offshore patrol vessels in addition to the Langkawi class (Ex-Musytari class) already in service. Therefore the navy should accept the number of eighteen units of patrol vessels for their fleet and now lobby for new strike units instead, be it the additional frigates or the Fast Attack Craft replacement in the form of Littoral Combat Ships, enabling the navy to concentrate on their core business, to engage enemy strike units with their own powerful strike force.

So Can We Proceed With Batch 2 Now?

Yesterday 23 July 2009 was the day the last unit of the Kedah Class Patrol Vessel, PV176 was launched and named as PV Selangor. It is a great comeback by the Boustead Naval Shipyard to ensure the completion of the first batch of PVs delivery despite the setbacks faced by the project in the early part of the projects. They have proven their mettle despite all the unfair critiscms and doubts thrown at their ability to finish the project with local expertise and materials. BNS now truly deserve the mantle of shipyard as they no longer act just as a dockyard for the navy ships repairs as per its reputation previously.

Credit : mcwood from milphotos

Nonetheless it is a bit puzzling to read in the article in The Star today above what seems to be a plea by the Chief Naval Officer Admiral Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Jaafar for the Government to proceed with the second batch of the patrol vessel, despite the Government pledging as per my earlier post that "once the first batch of six boats has been delivered to the RMN" as reported in this Bernama article. I personally expected that the contract or at least an MOU on this project would become one of the showpiece agreements to be signed at the LIMA 2009, especially since BNS had kept their end of the bargain. This is one promise the Government should keep as the justifications for the new batch of patrol vessels has been clearly stated by the Government in the article itself, notwithstanding the reasons given by the Admiral.

So if shortage of funds is a hindrance especially if this is due to a possible upgrading of its armaments, then lets proceed with the plain vanilla configuration as per the first batch as long as the vessels are builts. That is why it was designed as a fitted for not with platform, so that once funds becomes availables it can be up-gunned as required no matter how this concept has been pilloried by those ignorant of its value. We need the platforms for offshore patrol of our national waters, there is no need to second-guess that. What should be left now is a debate on how to name the new class, and can I venture it to be the Sabah class for both national unity and nostalgic sake.

Upgunning The CB90

Since the first four units of CB90h combat boats were bought by the RMN in 1999, it was generally assumed that the boats were only armed with heavy machine guns of .50 calibre mounted at weapon ring at the most. Although around 2001 the navy had tested the installation of Giat Industries 15 A Ultralight 20mm manual mount guns in Sabah waters, involving the firing of 1,200 shots at 600 to 1500 metres, nothing came out of this and the weapon was not installed on the combat boats. Thus even though these CB90s play an important role in the LIMA stations and in OPS PASIR, compared to other patrol boats the nation has these boats are relatively undergunned for their tasks as they have to depend on manually operated GPMGs while conducting their operations.

Nonetheless while trawling the internet, I came across a photo of two docked CB90s that I believe is in Sabah with their weapon system covered up. This piqued my interest and after further research, I found that the weapon system is the Bofors/BAE System Lemur remote controlled machine gun. This system actually debuted in LIMA 2005 and was demonstrated to the public, but I guess nobody picked up that the RMN had actually bought a few systems for their CB90s, possibly because these were based in Sabah waters as none of the CB90s based in the peninsular has been shown with the system installed. Personally I think that it was a good move by the RMN to installed such remote controlled system for the combat boats instead of manual guns since the boats can move at very high speed and I cannot imagine how someone can manually man a gun with all the pitching and yawing. Now if somebody can just tell me what calibre machine gun is used with the Lemur mount as it can be installed with a 7.65mm or 12.7mm machine gun or even an automated grenade launcher. Either way the combat boats are now better armed for their operations, so let's hope all of them will be similarly armed finally.

Ouessant To Be A Museum In Malaysia?

Surfing the net to get further news on SSK Ouessant's fate, I am a little bit surprised to read a more recent French article as below that after translation seems to indicate that the SSK Ouessant is being prepared to be transported back to Malaysia to be displayed as a Museum ship and not retired as previously thought. Whether this is something that 'is lost in translation' or otherwise, let us wait if there will be any official announcement from the local authorities, probably during the welcoming ceremony of the KD Tunku Abdul Rahman in September.

The submarine Ouessant has fulfilled its mission - Brest

Saturday 11 July 2009

The last mission of the submarine Ouessant, and the departure of the first Malaysian Scorpene mark the end of the project "Ouessant Malaysia.

An end ... and a beginning

While a beautiful ceremony Thursday marked the return to the naval base in the last mission of the submarine Ouessant, the Tunku Abdul Rahman first submarine Scorpene type built by DCNS Cherbourg, Toulon left for Malaysia. The event marks six years of a human and technological rich and exciting for DCNS and Navfco. The project includes construction of two Scorpene submarines and maintenance of submarine Ouessant, the training of Malaysian crews.

Navfco owner of Ouessant

The training of Malaysian submariners is provided by the private company Navfco with staff seconded from the Navy. The Navfco has filed two crew submarine Scorpene, reserve personnel, instructors, staff of Staff

9 000 hours of diving

"More than 9 000 dive hours were devoted to training. We welcomed 170 students who have each made an average of 1 300 hours of diving. This happened in 3 phases: classroom training, simulator and the sea, "says Admiral against Christian Le Roux. "This 42 th release went very well, after four years, we are really in a school, it happens later between fellow submariners," said Captain Commander Benoit Lemire, commander of Ouessant.

A museum

In the coming days, we will proceed with the disarmament and ensure the safe Ouessant. However, its future seems sealed, an arrangement is underway between the two countries. Loaded on a ship dedicated the Ouessant join Malaysia to become a museum.

Six years and some key dates

30 October 2003: entry into force. 20 October 2005: the debut of Ouessant. 21 November 2005: start of training for Wednesday 9 July: End of the period of training at sea

Some figures

Major refit: 200 people, 400 0000 hours, 20 000 material visits, 150 000 hours of maintenance in post-major refit.

"This contract is a fundamental DCNS and its partners. This is the first time we offer a wide globalization of supply, "says Gérard Solve director DCNS Brest.

Below you can find the original article in French.

Le sous-marin Ouessant a bien rempli sa mission - Brest

samedi 11 juillet 2009

La dernière mission du sous-marin Ouessant, et le départ du premier Scorpène malaisien marquent la fin du projet « Ouessant Malaisie ».

Une fin... et un début

Alors qu'une belle cérémonie marquait jeudi le retour à la base navale de la dernière mission du sous-marin Ouessant, le Tunku Abdul Rahman premier sous-marin de type Scorpène construit par DCNS Cherbourg, quittait Toulon pour la Malaisie. L'événement marque six années d'une aventure humaine et technologique riche et passionnante pour DCNS et la Navfco. Le projet comprend la construction de deux sous-marins Scorpène, la maintenance du sous-marin Ouessant, la formation des équipages malaisiens.

Navfco armateur du Ouessant

La formation des sous-mariniers malaisiens est assurée par la société de droit privé Navfco avec du personnel détaché de la Marine nationale. La Navfco a ainsi formé deux équipages de sous-marin Scorpène, du personnel de réserve, des instructeurs, du personnel d'état-major.

9 000 heures de plongée

« Plus de 9 000 heures de plongée ont été consacrées à la formation. Nous avons accueilli 170 élèves qui ont chacun en moyenne fait 1 300 heures de plongée. Cela s'est passé en 3 phases : formation en salle de classe, sur simulateur et à la mer », explique le contre-amiral Christian Le Roux. «
Cette 42 e sortie s'est très bien passée, après quatre années, on est plus vraiment dans une ambiance scolaire, on se passe la suite entre confrères sous-mariniers », souligne le capitaine de frégate Benoit Lemire, commandant du Ouessant.

Un musée

Dans les jours qui viennent, on va procéder au désarmement et mise en sécurité du Ouessant. Toutefois son avenir semble scellé, un arrangement est en cours entre les deux pays. Chargé sur un navire spécialisé, l'Ouessant rejoindrait la Malaisie pour devenir un musée.

Six ans et quelques dates clés

30 octobre 2003 : entrée en vigueur du contrat. 20 octobre 2005 : fin du grand carénage du Ouessant. 21 novembre 2005 : début de la formation à la mer. 9 juillet : fin de la période de formation à la mer.

Quelques chiffres

Grand carénage : 200 personnes, 400 0000 heures de travail, 20 000 matériels visités, 150 000 heures de maintenance en post-grand carénage.

« Ce contrat est une opération fondamentale pour DCNS et ses partenaires. C'est la première fois que nous offrons une globalisation aussi large de prestation », explique Gérard Solve, directeur de DCNS Brest.

Fate Of Ouessant Determined

On the same day our first submarine started on her voyage home, the following translated French Article has announced the fate of Ouessant after she finished her mission of training the Royal Malaysian Navy Dolphins.

09/07/09: On 9 July 2009, having completed its mission of building schools, Ouessant, last diesel submarine operating in France, docked at the naval base in Brest. On this occasion, a ceremony was held, chaired by ALFOST. The Ouessant taught students from the Royal Malaysian Navy since November 2005. A total of 146 Malaysian sailors got their qualification submariner during 42 trips to the sea and over 9100 hours of diving with the Ouessant.

I have also managed to find another article about the end of SSK Ouessant service as follows:

DCNS contributes to creation of Malaysia's first submarine force (2009-07-10)

By: DCNS , EPICOS S.A

Following a major refit by DCNS, conventional-propulsion submarine Ouessant was recommissioned in November 2005 for an at-sea training programme for Malaysian submariners. The submarine had been decommissioned in 2001 after entering active service with the French Navy in 1978. During the training programme, SSK Ouessant logged 9,000 hours under water. Today, on returning to port after its final mission, SSK Ouessant will have completed a major contribution to the creation of Malaysia's first submarine force.

The contract signed by DCNS and the Royal Malaysian Navy in 2002 called for the delivery of two Scorpene submarines and an extensive crew training package by DCI/Navfco.

At-sea training has been a key component of this package. Given that SSK Ouessant was built in the 1970s and considering the demands of repeated training exercises, special attention was paid to the condition of each item of shipboard equipment.

Almost 170 Malaysian submariners benefited from training aboard the Ouessant. In the course of the four-year programme, DCNS ensured nearly 500 days of at-sea availability and the boat spent over 9,000 hours submerged.

Following their training aboard the Ouessant, the RMN's first submarine crew took control of their first boat, KD Tunku Abdul Rahman, delivered on 26 January 2009. Coming soon, the first RMN Scorpene set off on the voyage to its home port.

Thank you for a job well done and have a well deserved retirement!

She's On The Way Home!

Bon Voyage Mon Amis!

July 09, 2009 23:13 PM

Malaysia's First Submarine Begins Journey Home From France

KUALA LUMPUR, July 9 (Bernama) -- Malaysia's first submarine KD Tunku Abdul Rahman left Toulon, France on its historical maiden journey to Malaysia at 11 am Thursday.The Embassy of Malaysia in Paris in a statement sent here, said the submarine was waved off by Malaysia's Ambassador to France Datuk S. Thanarajasingam.Also present at the ceremony were Defence Attache Captain Khairuddin Mohd Ariff and officials from Malaysia's submarine project team as well as French senior navy officials led by Admiral Yann Tainguy.The submarine consisting of 35 crew members was commanded by Commander Zulhelmy Ithnain of the Royal Malaysian Navy.The submarine is expected to stop at Lumut and Port Klang for a few days before continuing the journey to Sepanggar Naval Base in Sabah. It will also transit at major ports such as Jeddah, Djibouti and Cochin, before reaching Malaysia.The submarine project started when Malaysia signed a deal to purchase two submarines in 2002.The first submarine was finally completed with the departure of KD Tunku Abdul Rahman, which is expected to reach its Malaysian home in Sepanggar by early September.-- BERNAMA

TV Under A Tree

Something I saw the other day triggered a long lost memory from my childhood. Some of you may be aware of the public large screen televisions we have in place locally or even overseas, strategically placed usually more to display advertisements rather than disseminate television programs to the masses. Some that I remember in Kuala Lumpur are at Dataran Merdeka, Pudu Raya and near Jalan Ipoh flyover, but whether they are still there I have no idea now.

What really matters is that in my childhood, having a TV is not something every household can boast of unlike what we have in the present where it seems every bedroom may have one. And if I remember correctly there was even a Merdeka advertisement that touched on this fact when they featured a neighbourhood congregating at a neighbour’s house as sign of neighbourliness. So TV was a thing that was may be exquisite to some, even though we had only one or two channels at the time rather than being jaded with the tens of channels we have nowadays especially if you have a satellite TV subscription.

Yet the public service at the time was still top notch that in order to cater to the desires of the public to be fed news and entertainment from the idiot box. although programming at the time would not be idiotic as it may be now though quant to some, a special place was found for this outlet to be located. Thus it was then that under a large overhanging tree in a public park, you find a building with only a roof on top with thin pillars supporting it, with rows of benches looped in a half crescent around a TV inviting the public to partake their television fare there. And since at the time TV programming usually starts only in the afternoon rather than 24/7 you have nowadays, it is usually those and their families who may have had their evening exercises or other activities at the park who may be found lounging in front of the TV sets cooling down before going home to dinner. Mom saying to the family let’s watch TV then would not be a deprecating sentence as it can be nowadays in the world of couch potatoes, but actually an invite to have a wholesome family time at the public park. And that is what a triggered memory of the TV building at Taman D.R. Seenivasagam in Ipoh brought to this mind.

Anti Air Warfare Readiness Proven

My fellow forumer in Cari, Standupper posted a Bernama report on the successful anti air missile strike by KD Laksamana Hang Nadim using her Aspide missile against a target being towed by a Lear Jet. The interesting part of the report is that missile firing test was not conducted during the bigger Taming Sari or Kerismas naval exercises that normally features such an event, but during routine weekly operational exercise "Perang Pangkor". This is not only as a cost saving exercise but is in line with the operational concept of the navy's combat assets, that is fully trained and ready to be mobilised when required. The success of this exercise also proves that the RMN fleet is ever ready to face any threats, especially in anti air warfare, one of the four dimensions of naval warfare now and strengthens the competency level and combat readiness of the fleet to handle any conflicts in our national waters.

Voyage Home Delayed

Looks like its bad news for our Dolphins in KD Tunku Abdul Rahman who may have been looking forward to fasting and celebrating Eid Fitri at home. Jane's has reported in their webpage that the return of the Royal Malaysian Navy's (RMN's) first submarine, KD Tunku Abdul Rahman , to Malaysia has been postponed. The RMN CNO Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Jaafar told Jane's on 23 June that KD Tunku Abdul Rahman would now depart from France in August and arrive the following month in September, hopefully before Eid Fitri. Initial reports had stated that the submarine was due to arrive on 25th of the month but with the delay this will give the Works Ministry more time to better finish the submarine base in Teluk Sepanggar Naval Base that was only recently reported to be only 97 percent ready. This makes sense of the Works Minister statement that the naval base will only be handed over the RMN by the end of August. Never mind men, even if you all arrive after the Eid the celebrations will still continue. Eid celebrations is one month long anyway.

Historical Photos Liberated – Seaward Defence Motor Launches.

Going Out On Patrol (1)

HDMLs were originally intended for the defence of estuarial and local waters against submarines but they proved such a sea-kindly and versatile design After the war HDMLs were adapted for other purposes such as surveying or were allocated to RNVR units to provide valuable seagoing experience for this important part-time navy. Some were sold to countries such as Burma, Sri Lanka and the Philippines and became the backbone of their smaller navies.

From the Royal Malaysian Navy roots in the Straits Settlement Naval Volunteer Reserve (SSNVR) in Singapore, harbour defence motor launches had been operated for seamanship and navigational training. These were built in by Thornycroft in Singapore specifically for the Straits Settlement RNVR were outside the normal Royal Navy numbering system for HDML’s. Instead the 23 metre boats received names instead with the first being HMS Penyengat and followed by HMS Pahlawan, HMS Panglima, HMS Penghambat, HMS Pengail and HMS Panji. HMS Panji was later transferred to SSNVR Penang after the branch was established although it seems that the HDML’s mainly operated in the Georgetown area on the west coast of Malaya. There was a number of casualties for the class during the war, these were HMS Penghambat, HMS Penyengat and HMS Panglima while the other three supposedly managed to escape to Burma to join the Burmese RNVR and survived the war.(3)

Thus it is no surprise that the first craft to constitute the Anti Bandit Patrol in June 1948 during the First Emergency consisted of 4 Fairmile type motor launches salvaged from the dockyard, refitted and rearmed with Oerlikons on bow and stern, twin Vickers machine guns on each side of the wheelhouse, and a Lanchester for each crew member. Two were sent up each coast, ML1335 and ML1336 west, ML1333 and ML1334 east, with a remit to stop and search fishing vessels and junks for illegal arms and immigrants. They were crewed (15 each) by the crew of the frigates which were in dockyard hands for a refit like the HMS Loch Glendhu and HMS London. ML1333 operated from Kuantan, halfway up the Malay Peninsular to Tumpat on the Siamese border, and spent her time going up rivers and checking off shore islands for gun runners to the Malaysian Terrorists, mostly coming from Siam. The craft were kept at sea during this period and were supplied by HMS Surprise and given information by Army Spotter planes. (2)

FLEET OF THE MALAYAN NAVAL FORCE SHIPS AT SEA ON TRAINING 25/10/1951

It is fitting therefore that these HDMLs were later progressively transferred to the Malayan Naval Force from the RN's 200th Patrol Squadron in Singapore from 1949 as per the records below, although at the time they were reclassified as Seaward Defence Motor Launches or SDMLs:

Pennant Number (EX) Built Transferred Name Deactivated

SDML 3501 (ex HDML 1081) 8.10.41 1951 Sri Kedah 1959

SDML 3502 (ex HDML 1105) 3.43 1949 Sri Trengganu 1970

SDML 3505 (ex HDML 1333) 15.9.44 1958 Sri Pahang 1965

SDML 3506 (ex HDML 1334) 16.10.44 1950 Sri Negeri Sembilan 1966

SDML 3507 (ex HDML 1335) 2.1.1945 1950 Sri Perak 1966

SDML 3509 (ex HDML 1336) 30.9.44 1949 Sri Selangor 1961

SDML 3508 (ex HDML 1385) 8..43 1950 Sri Kelantan 1965

ROYAL MALAYAN NAVY MANEUVOR IN CHINA SEA. 01/09/1955

As my second posting in the Historical Photos Liberated series, I hope you are happy with my presentation of photos of the SDMLs in action in the 1950s.

Notes :

1) Contributed By Daniel Spence, Sheffield Hallam University.

2)Related to me by Richard Lloyd, Editor of the HMS Ganges Association, RLRichardLloyd@cs.com

KLSR Reports On OPS Fajar Ships Return

Kuala Lumpur Security Review has reported on the return of KD Sri Inderapura from Operasi Fajar 4/2009 today. Catch the news here. In addition, the article contains the belated news on the return of KD Hang Tuah last May. Since there was no sensational news during their deployment, I guess there will be not much coverage, if any in the mainstream media of KD Sri Inderapura's return.

Mea Culpa : At least The Star had a small article on this.

KAPAL AUXILIARY TLDM BUNGA MAS 5 BELAYAR KE TELUK ADEN

Kredit Kepada Standupper Dari Cari.

KAPAL AUXILIARY TLDM BUNGA MAS 5 BELAYAR KE TELUK ADEN
- BUKTI KERJASAMA STRATEGIK TLDM DAN MISC

LUMUT, 22 Jun – Kerjasama dan perkongsian strategik di antara TLDM dan MISC kini direalisasaikan dengan pelayaran Kapal Auxiliary Bunga Mas 5 (BM 5) ke Perairan Teluk Aden pagi ini.

Perkongsian strategik ini menggabungkan kekuatan pasukan tetap ATM yang terdiri daripada anggota TLDM, TDM dan TUDM dengan krew BM 5 yang telah diserapkan ke Pasukan Simpanan Sukarela TLDM (PSSTLDM) untuk melaksanakan operasi menjaga keselamatan kapal-kapal dagang Malaysia yang berkepentingan di Perairan Teluk Aden.
Pengoperasian Kapal BM 5 telah melakar sejarah tersendiri apabila pertama kali di Malaysia sebuah kapal dagang ditransformasikan menjadi sebuah kapal Auxiliary TLDM bagi merealisasikan hasrat dan impian negara khususnya ATM dalam mengamalkan konsep Pertahanan Menyeluruh (HANRUH) sepertimana yang terkandung dalam dasar Pertahanan Negara.

BM 5 bersaiz 132.8 meter panjang dan berkelebaran 22.7 meter berupaya beroperasi dalam kelajuan lebih 17 knot. Kapal Auxiliary ini turut dilengkapi dengan hangar bagi menempatkan pesawat SUPER LYNK dan juga Bot Tempur milik TLDM untuk melaksanakan operasi defensif mahupun ofensif jika diperlukan.

Untuk tempoh 3 bulan pertama, BM 5 diletakkan di bawah Pemerintahan Komander Ahmad Zaki bin Abdullah PSSSTLDM. Kapal memulakan pelayaran dari Jeti Operasi Pangkalan TLDM Lumut pada jam 8.10 pagi ini bersama 59 anggota kapal yang terdiri daripada 21 orang krew tetap kapal yang telah diserap dan dilatih sebagai PSSTLDM dan diperkuat dengan kehadiran Tim Pasukan Khas Laut (PASKAL), Krew Pesawat SUPER LYNK milik TLDM, anggota dari Tim Perubatan TDM termasuk anggota penembak tepat dari Tim GGK dan Tim Pasukan Khas Udara (PASKAU).

Siri kejayaan Operasi Fajar yang dilaksanakan oleh TLDM sebelum ini telah terbukti di mana tiada kapal MISC ataupun kapal berkepentingan kepada negara yang dirampas sepanjang operasi dilaksanakan sejak Ogos 2008. Sehingga kepulangan KD SRI INDERAPURA untuk penugasan kali kedua di Teluk Aden, yang dijangka tiba di Pangkalan TLDM Lumut tengahari esok ( 23 Jun), TLDM telah menugaskan 5 buah kapal TLDM di Perairan Teluk Aden sejak bermulanya misi pada Ogos 2008.

Bagi menangani cabaran kekangan aset TLDM dan juga kos pengoperasian yang tinggi, konsep kerjasama strategik di antara TLDM dan MISC dihasilkan. Perkongsian strategik dengan menyerapkan salah satu kapal MISC ke dalam inventori TLDM bagi melaksanakan penugasan operasi ini, merupakan satu langkah bijak dan penyelesaian jangka panjang terhadap keselamatan aset dagangan negara. Kehadiran kapal Auxiliary yang telah dipertingkatkan keupayaannya ini, diyakini dapat memastikan kepentingan aset maritim Negara di perairan Teluk Aden tidak diancam.

Panglima Armada, Laksamana Madya Dato’ Ahmad Kamarulzaman bin Haji Badaruddin hadir menyampaikan amanat dan kata-kata semangat serta peransang kepada krew BM 5 sewaktu mengucapkan selamat belayar dan bersama mengiringi kapal keluar hingga di Perairan Barat Pulau Pangkor pagi tadi. Beliau hadir dan pulang dari kapal BM 5 menggunakan pesawat TLDM. Dalam ucapan beliau, Panglima Armada turut menekan dan mengingatkan mengenai kepentingan pelayaran ini kepada aset maritim negara di Perairan Teluk Aden.

BM 5 dijangka beroperasi di Perairan Teluk Aden selama 3 bulan sehingga penghujung September 2009 ini. Turut mengiring BM 5 di Perairan Pulau Pangkor pagi tadi ialah aset baru dalam inventori TLDM, KD PERAK.

Happy Huntings!

I have heard that our KD Tunku Abdul Rahman (TAR) was recently involved in war games with one of the French SSNs after weeks of preparations that resulted in only turning in for sleep in the early mornings for the crew. It was a complete privilege for the crew in being able to track the SSN all the way through out the war game period.


Alhamdulillah, KD TAR won 10 - 0 against SSN Rubis despite early worries whether our crew and boat can beat the O’Higgins record of 6-1 wins against the French SSN previously, that resulted in nervousness in our crew when going into the games. I understand that the 10-0 win meant that our boat could hold contact for a given period, with enough time to establish a firing solution in order to conduct a simulation firing against the SSN, where later it was received and acknowledged through Underwater Transmission (UWT) that the target fired against was the opposing boat.


When the inspectorate staff from the French Navy ALFOST embarked in KD TAR for the final week tactical examination, they had admitted their defeat and that based on the post battle report, the other submarine could only track KD TAR 5 times during the whole period of two days two nights of war gaming.


This is extremely good news for the crew of our newest naval service and they are now starting to understand what a fantastic submarine we have. May this high level of service continue. Bravo Zulu to the crew of KD Tunku Abdul Rahman and may they have a safe journey home.