Utuh Paloi Banjar Blog

I have been asking myself of late: With so much time and resources available virtually at a flick of the finger, why are these people still fumbling around to get the facts right? Will they ever learn the all important art of self-correcting? Will they ever grow up and stop relying on others to pick up, rectify, and show them their mistakes?

“To err is human…..” so goes the saying. But then, there is another complementary saying that says “To keep on erring is devilish”. So, in all honesty, if we consider ourselves worthy to be in the company of the creature called human being, isn’t it our responsibility to learn from past mistakes and avoid repeating the same?

How to self-correct and avoid making the same mistakes of falling into the same crater over and over again?

Much as I would like to show the way, I have to acknowledge the fact that not all lessons can be taught, and I must also admit that some lessons have to be simply learned.  And let me say, without wavering, that being ignorant is not so much a shame, as being unwilling to learn.

So please start learning because it is never too late to learn.

Can anyone see what’s wrong with the wordings (above) underlined in RED?

If you can’t, please take a long deep breath and look closely again. Still can’t make out?

Look again at the picture and read carefully the information associated with the ship…..the LST KD Raja Jarom.

(Just to recap briefly,  this blog, with the help of her ex crew – Jack Harris – had to a certain extent covered HERE among other things:

(The departure of the Project Team or Advance Party from Paya Lebar Airport, the towing of the two LSTs from their disposal yard at Vallejo, California, the refurbishing at the Triple A (AAA) Shipyard, Hunters Point, San Francisco, the removal of three 200-years old cannons from Pulau Aur, off Mersing and the collision with the Japanese Tanker, Shoyu Maru in the Straits of Singapore).

Now, let’s return to the main objective of this posting: to dissect and analyse where PUSMAS has erred.

Across the word  “Tauliah” or Commissioning is written 7 October 1976. Is that date correct, or wrong?

Next, click HERE and compare the events related to the date. According to Wikipedia, the aforesaid date is the date the LST was transferred to – and acquired by – the Royal Malaysian Navy.

Please note and understand that ‘Transfer’ and ‘Commissioning’ are two different things. They are, literally, light years apart.

Why trust Wikipedia? Who knows it could also be wrong!

If that is the argument, then let UPBB validate its claim via newspaper clipping (below) from the Straits Times dated 21 February 1977.

Comprehending the content of the report, and taking time zone into account, it can be safely deduced that KD Raja Jarom and KD Sri Banggi were commissioned in the United States on Saturday, 19 February 1977 and NOT 7 October 1976.  

Can PUSMAS prove that UPBB is wrong? If it can, please provide evidence to the contrary?

Next, we look at the sentences underlined in Red across the word “Nota” which says that: “Berkhidmat dalam Tentera Laut Diraja Malaysia secara pinjaman dari Tentera Laut Amerika Syarikat dan seterusnya ditauliahkan pada 1 Julai 1971…..”

What’s wrong with the “Nota”, and where are the mistakes, if there’s any?

Mistake number 1:  At first it says: “Tauliah – 7 Oktober 1976”, and then it contradicts itself by saying “ditauliahkan pada 1 Julai 1971”.

Mistake number 2:  The ship that was initially loaned by the US Navy is not USS Sedgwick County (KD Raja Jarom). The ship is USS Hunterdon County (KD Sri Langkawi), which sailed into the Straits of Johore and berthed for the first time at the Malaysian Base Jetty, Woodlands on 29 June 1971, and officially handed over to the RMN on Monday, 5 July 1971.

Mistake number 3:  The Commissioning of KD Sri Langkawi was on Saturday, 10 July 1971 and NOT 1 July 1971, and the Commissioning Warrant was read by the Commanding Officer, Commander Chong Gan Son.

NOTE:  Sequence of events before commissioning:

A.  29 June 1971 – USS Hunterdon County arrived at the MBJ.

B.  5 July 1971  - Handing over ceremony.  (Since it’s absurd to commission the ship while the name of USS Hunterdon County can still be seen on the superstructure and the Pennant Number 838 on her Port and Starboard bow, RMN had to remove the American identity and replace them with Malaysian identity - KD Sri Langkawi A1500. All the conversion had to be done by 9 July 1971).

C.  10 July 1971 – Commissioning.

Click HERE for the picture of  Doa Selamat held in conjunction with the Commissioning Ceremony at the MBJ.

And HERE for a brief discription and inside story of KD Sri Langkawi.

29 June 1971 – USS Hunterdon County, Pennant Number 838, was on her way to the Malaysian Base Jetty, Woodlands. The tall structure in the background is the Government Building, Bukit Timbalan, JB.

Should PUSMAS require proof pertaining to the Handing Over and Commissioning of KD Sri Langkawi, please refer to the  newspaper reports below.

Need I say more ?

Prologue:

TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN

Should those concerned feel slighted by the revelation, I have nothing but apologies for presenting these serialised ‘Damage Control’ lessons.

What does the words underlined in red (above) reveal?

1962 hingga 1966 – Confrontation did not start in 1962, but 1963 (why repeat RMN’s previous mistake that says Confrontation started in 1964?…HERE).

For General Knowledge, Soekarno issued the infamous edict “GANYANG MALAYSIA” upon realising that his effort to thwart the formation of Malaysia has failed.

And, should I be given the task of writing about the early history of KD Sri Tawau, instead of beating around the bush dwelling on events (incorrectly) preceeding the formation of Malaysia which most of us already know, I would write it this way:

SEJARAH AWAL

Sejarah awal KD Sri Tawau bermula pada bulan Ogos 1963 apabila RMN yang pada masa itu masih dikenali sebagai Royal Malayan Navy menghantar 10 orang Junior Ratings bertugas di Tawau, Borneo Utara. Kelompok perintis ini dianggotai oleh Leading Seaman Tawab, Able Seaman (ABSM) Ali Marinam, Hamidon, Mazlan, Osman ‘patah’, Salih, Able Rating Engineering Mechanic (ABME) Clitus Gomez dan Yusuf Wok serta Able Rating Radio Operator (ABRO) Yaakob dan Yazid. Sementara menunggu ketibaan pegawai RMN, mereka melapor diri kepada Lt Paul Schumaitser dari Royal Navy.

Mereka ditempatkan bersama unit infantri dari The Gordon Highlanders, British Army dan mendirikan khemah di tapak kilang papan Teck Guan Sawmill yang pada masa itu terletak di tepi pantai sebelah belakang Hospital Tawau. Mereka ditugaskan mengendali dua buah bot dari jenis HLD, singkatan untuk Harbour Launch Diesel.

Setelah beberapa minggu bertugas di bawah pegawai dari Royal Navy, dua orang pegawai anak tempatan yang diserap dari Royal Malaysian Navy Volunteer Reserve (RMNVR) cawangan Pulau Pinang – Sub Lt Thyagarajah dan Sub Lt Zainal Arabi – tiba di Tawau untuk memulakan tugas sebagai CO dan XO/RCO pertama pangkalan Royal Malaysian Navy yang belum bernama.  

Dengan kehadiran 10 orang Junior Ratings sebagai perintis, dan disusuli dengan ketibaan 2 orang pegawai RMNVR, maka lahirlah sebuah ‘makeshift base-camp’ yang kemudiannya dinamakan KD Sri Tawau.

NOTE:

Should PUSMAS require additional information/inside story of the early days of KD Sri Tawau, kindly log on to: 10 Budak Hitam – Tawau 1963.

The above ‘rambling’ is about the formation or the early days of what is now known as KD Sri Tawau.

Pangkalan KD SRI TAWAU Tahun 1964

The above picture is downloaded from PUSMAS Website.

Oh my God, please have pity on me. How much more can I withstand such blatant disregard for facts. The picture and its caption “Pangkalan KD SRI TAWAU Tahun 1964” defies logic.

Inevitably, doubts begin to creep into my mind…..are these people really serious in discharging their duties! Haven’t they got the time to surf the internet, or the know-how to extract relevant information from the following picture-postings: HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, and HERE.

Presuming that they have opened the above links, can those people entrusted to gather historical facts put two and two together and come up with an answer?

Or do they still have to rely on this ‘old salt’ to provide a microscopic analysis and explain in detail what to make-out from the pictures/notes that were posted ‘eons’ ago in UPBB?

If that is so, I’ll say it loud and clear that the caption for the picture “Pangkalan KD SRI TAWAU Tahun 1964” is incorrect – 100%.

How sure I am?

Very sure. I was drafted to KD Sri Tawau on 15 February 1970 and drafted out on 15 March the following year.

Can I substantiate my stance?

Since I am still in the mood of talking sense, I will identify the objects that I have marked on that picture, and from there the person responsible for posting it can make his own conclusion.

1.  Workshop for Electrical, Radio, Engineering and Shipwright

2.  Store – with asbestos roofing and zinc wall

3.  LCP (Landing Craft Personnel) on the slip

4.  Senior Rates (bachelor) Accomodation Unit/Mess

5.  Commanding Officer’s Quarters

6.  Administration Block cum XO, RCO and BSO’s Quarters

7.  Junior Rates Canteen

8.  Slipway

9.  Junior Rates Accomodation Block

10.  Tawau Base Jetty

Except for one small single story structure on the extreme left side of the picture (Guard House), the rest of the unmarked structures were not there ‘yet’ (as of March 1971).

So, what’s my calculated guess?

The picture was taken after 1972, and indisputably NOT 1964.