KOTA TINGGI, Aug 26 — The Defence Ministry is waiting for a full report on the sinking of the Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) vessel, KD Pendekar, two nautical miles southeast of Tanjung Penyusup here yesterday.
Defence Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin said RMN has started a probe into the incident involving the nearly 50-year-old ship, which began operation in 1979.
“We do not deny that some of (RMN’s) ships are too old, but that may not be the cause. The cause, as was earlier said, is the leak believed to be from the vessel hitting an underwater object.
“However, we are grateful no casualties were recorded,” he told reporters after visiting the site of the Sedili Stingless Bee Farming Knowledge Transfer Program, organised by Universiti Malaysia Terengganu at Kampung Sedili Kecil PPRT Housing here today.
According to Khaled, there are 10 to 15 RMN ships that are over 40 years old, and said an inspection will be performed on all the ships.
Meanwhile, the Kota Tinggi MP said the government is working to get the littoral combat ships (LCS) that are being built ready according to schedule.
The government, he said, is also buying three new littoral mission ships (LMS) from Turkiye.
“The first LCS ship will operate in 2026. We have five LCS ships, God willing, there will be one LCS ship every year... For the LMS, they will be ready in October, November and December of 2027,” he said.
Yesterday, the RMN in a statement said KD Pendekar suffered a major leak after hitting an underwater object while on an operation at noon.
All 39 crew were rescued after efforts to control the leak and stabilise the ship were unsuccessful.
A special investigation board has been set up to identify the source of the incident.
Meanwhile, regarding the construction of RMN’s Naval Region 4 (Mawilla 4) headquarters in Bintulu, Sarawak, Khaled said the ministry is in the process of negotiating with the state government regarding the price of the land for the proposed project.
’’We are currently negotiating the price, if both parties agree we will build a new additional base there for RMN. It will also be the base for the LMS,” he said.
— Bernama
