Royal Malaysian Navy's Scorpene submarine KD Tunku Abdul Rahman proves RMN's capabilities

The Royal Malaysian Navy's Scorpene submarine fleet, which has been a subject of discussion on social media recently, proved its naysayers wrong after KD Tunku Abdul Rahman submarine succesfully completed a week-long journey from its base in Sepanggar, Sabah to the Lumut RMN naval base here today.RMN Fleet Commander, Vice-Admiral Datuk Abdul Hadi A. Rashid said the seven day journey - which passed without incident - was proof that the navy's submarines were not as unreliable as painted by the online community.

"As you can see, there is absolutely no truth to the rumours that our submarines cannot manoeuvre underwater, as the submarine in front of us managed to circumvent the challenging South China Sea with no problems," he told reporters when met at the RMN Media Day at the Lumut Naval base here today.The submarine had made its way across the South China Sea in conjunction with the 80th anniversary celebrations of the RMN, where it will be opened to public viewing for the first time.

The ship's commanding officer Commander Zahari Mohamad urged the public not to spread lies about the nation's armed forces capabilities."Affairs involving the safety and protection of the nation should not be debated or politicised. Parties which spread these rumours are irresponsible," said Zahari, who has commanded the KD Tunku Abdul Rahman since August 2011.

He stressed that the submarines are only not operational during their maintenance periods, which involved a thorough and coordinated inspection of each submarine.Abdul Hadi, meanwhile, invited the public to visit the submarine during the RMN Armada Open Day and 1MINDEF carnival held at the RMN naval base here on Saturday and Sunday.

Abdul Hadi said that the open day would allow the public to see the capability of the RMN for themselves.In addition to the submarine, the public will also be able to see a number of RMN ships, including KD Hang Tuah, KD Selangor,KD Kelantan, Tunas Samudera royal yachts, and merchant vessel MV Megabakti, which is used as a submarine support vessel.

Hadi also said that the RMN special forces unit (PASKAL) would be showcasing rescue mission demonstrations for the benefit of the public.