Queen launches navy's littoral mission ship in Istanbul

Malaysia today marked a historic milestone in strengthening its maritime defence capabilities with the naming and launching ceremony of the Royal Malaysian Navy’s (RMN) first Littoral Mission Ship Batch 2 (LMSB2) at a shipyard in Istanbul, Turkiye.

The ceremony was graced by Raja Permaisuri Agong Raja Zarith Sofiah.

Also present were Tunku Temenggong of Johor, Tunku Idris Iskandar Sultan Ibrahim, Tunku Panglima of Johor, Tunku Abdul Rahman Sultan Ibrahim, and Tunku Putera of Johor, Tunku Abu Bakar Sultan Ibrahim.

The vessel was named “Tunku Laksamana Abdul Jalil”, and as a symbolic gesture, zam zam water kept in a jar and blessed with surah Yasin recitation was released onto the ship’s bow.

The naming and launching ceremony is a long-standing naval tradition dating back to the establishment of the navy, serving as the formal identification of a vessel before it is commissioned into RMN service.

Defence Minister Khaled Nordin, Turkiye Deputy National Defence Minister Musa Heybet, Malaysian Consul-General in Istanbul Ahmad Amiri Abu Bakar, Defence Ministry deputy secretary-general (Development) Abdul Hadi Omar, and Western Fleet commander Vice Admiral Baharudin Wan Nor also attended the event.

The naming of the first LMSB2 vessel as Tunku Laksamana Abdul Jalil is the highest tribute to the fourth child of Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar and Raja Zarith Sofiah, the late Tunku Abdul Jalil Sultan Ibrahim, who was the first member of the Johor royal family in modern history to hold the title of “Laksamana” (Admiral).

Tunku Abdul Jalil died from cancer in 2015, at age 25.

The name commemorates the late prince’s courage, resilience, and fighting spirit, reflected through the slogan “Fight Like Jalil”, as well as his charitable legacy through the Tunku Laksamana Johor Cancer Foundation.

The selection of the name also carries special significance for the RMN, as the title Laksamana symbolises the supreme naval commander entrusted with defending the nation’s maritime sovereignty, while serving as a source of inspiration for RMN personnel serving aboard the combat vessel.

Meanwhile, Raja Zarith Sofiah said the naming and launching of the magnificent vessel, one of several new additions to the RMN fleet, marked a new chapter in the long-standing historical ties between Johor and Turkiye dating back to the 1860s.

“To have this ship named after Jalil means a lot to our family, for my husband and I, as his parents and our sons and daughters, as his siblings. It is a tribute which we appreciate very much.

“Jalil was the Tunku Laksamana of Johor, with Laksamana being a title which bears great significance in the classical Malay sultanates as commander of the naval fleets and also as a diplomat to foreign missions,” according to Her Majesty.

The queen also expressed hope that the vessel would be blessed and offered heartfelt prayers for the safety of all who would serve on board.

The Tunku-class vessel, based on the Ada-class corvette design by Turkish defence company Savunma Teknolojileri Muhendislik, measures 99.56m in length and 14.42m in width, and is the RMN’s latest combat asset designed for multi-dimensional operations.

The successful launch also marked a significant engineering milestone, with the vessel set to enter the setting-to-work phase, involving the integration of combat and sensor systems.

Apart from strengthening the RMN fleet, the construction of the LMSB2 also reflects the effectiveness of strategic cooperation between Malaysia and Turkiye, particularly in the area of technology transfer between the two countries.

With the launch of the first vessel, Malaysia has taken another step forward in developing a modern and competitive defence capability to address increasingly complex and challenging maritime security demands.

- Bernama

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