Kota Kinabalu – The lives of officers and members of the Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) who are on duty in the Spratly Islands otherwise known as Gugusan Semarang Peninjau (GSP) are very different compared to us on the mainland. Most notably, these people live on an island smaller in size than a football field, located on a coral reef and surrounded by an ocean more than 800 meters deep. A building with 7 rooms was built on the reef, decorated with two to three coconut trees, power to turn on electricity and a Reverse Osmosis (RO) System for the water system for drinking, cooking and washing clothes, as well as a helipad for a Nuri-sized helicopter to land.
READ ALSO: Royal Malaysian Navy Offshore Stations
The RMN has 5 Offshore Stations (SLP) located in GSP, namely Pulau Layang-Layang (PLL) (RMN Station Lima), Ubi Reef (RMN Station Uniform), Mantanani Reef (RMN Station Mike), Siput Reef (RMN Station Sierra) and Peninjau Reef (RMN Station Papa). Only RMN Station Lima has infrastructure such as accommodation buildings and offices, hangars, control towers, airports capable of landing Hercules C130 aircraft, Layang Layang Island Resort and the PLL Marine Research Station.
“This trip feels very sad
It’s a pity you don’t sit next to me friend
There are many stories that you should witness
In the dry land of rocks”
The first stanza in the lyrics of the song created by Ebiet G.Ade entitled Berita Kepada Kawan if observed is very suitable translated into the life diary of RMN officers and members who are on duty at the border to convey to the people that behind the air of peace that they breathe there is a veil that guards every moment and time whether on the border of forests, islands or far in the ocean.
Some of us don’t know enough about the story of military personnel who are only motivated by nawaitu, determined to fight and armed with love for religion and country, on duty to carry out their responsibilities by staying away from the worldly spotlight and the concrete jungle.
READ ALSO: Malaysian Armed Forces Commandos Occupied The Spratly Islands
In accordance with the function and role during peacetime, today the Maritime Operations Helicopter (HOM) AW 139 from Squadron 503 has carried out flight operations to all RMN offshore stations aimed at Identification, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) operations around the GSP in an effort to detect invasion by fishing boats or foreign ships. The presence of HOM AW 139 is also a show of presence in an area where claims overlap in the Spratly Islands between 5 countries including China, Vietnam, Brunei, the Philippines and Malaysia.
In addition to RMN ships carrying out 24/7 patrols in an operation known as Operation Sinar Samudera (OSS) under the auspices of the Eastern Fleet Command Headquarters (MPA Timur), the frequency of the presence of MAF air assets in those waters proves the steps taken by the Malaysian government serious in claiming rights over the five reefs involved.
With a distance of 160 nautical miles from the Kota Kinabalu RMN Base (PTKK), HOM AW 139 flight to RMN Station Lima takes 1 hour and 15 minutes. The aircraft has landed at RMN Station Lima to refuel and resume ISR operations around the OSS patrol sector and the RMN offshore stations. HOM AW 139 aircraft flown by Lt Kdr Nur Aman bin Mohamed Poat RMN and Lt Kdr Mohd Khairur Adnan bin Baharudin RMN have successfully landed at all offshore station helipads.
Article: Lt Kdr Ahmad Fitri bin Alias TLDM, Squadron 503 Operations Pilot
Photo: PW I AQM Sahardi bin Mohd Sayuti
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TIDAK PINTA UNTUK DIJULANG, CUKUPLAH DIKENANG
Kota Kinabalu – Kehidupan pegawai dan anggota Tentera Laut Diraja Malaysia (TLDM) yang bertugas di Kepulauan Spratly atau Gugusan Semarang Peninjau (GSP) adalah sangat berbeza berbanding kita di tanah besar. Paling ketara, mereka ini tinggal di pulau yang bersaiz lebih kecil daripada padang bola sepak, terletak di atas terumbu karang dan dikelilingi lautan berkedalaman lebih daripada 800 meter. Sebuah bangunan dengan 7 buah bilik dibina di atas terumbu tersebut, dihiasi dua ke tiga pohon kelapa, janakuasa untuk menghidupkan elektrik dan Reverse Osmosis (RO) System untuk sistem air bertujuan minum, masak dan membasuh pakaian, serta sebuah helipad untuk helikopter bersaiz Nuri mendarat.
TLDM mempunyai 5 buah Stesen Luar Pantai (SLP) yang terletak di GSP iaitu Pulau Layang-Layang (PLL) (Stesen Lima TLDM), Terumbu Ubi (Stesen Uniform TLDM), Terumbu Mantanani (Stesen Mike TLDM), Terumbu Siput (Stesen Sierra TLDM) dan Terumbu Peninjau (Stesen Papa TLDM). Hanya Stesen Lima TLDM sahaja mempunyai infrastruktur seperti bangunan penginapan beserta pejabat, hangar, menara kawalan, lapangan terbang yang mampu mendaratkan pesawat Hercules C130, Layang Layang Island Resort dan Stesen Penyelidikan Marin PLL.
READ ALSO: Defending Our Five Islands In The South China Sea
“Perjalanan ini, terasa sangat menyedihkan
Sayang engkau tak duduk di sampingku kawan
Banyak cerita yang mestinya kau saksikan
Di tanah kering bebatuan”
Rangkap pertama dalam lirik lagu ciptaan Ebiet G.Ade berjudul Berita Kepada Kawan jika diperamati sangat sesuai diterjemahkan kepada diari kehidupan pegawai dan anggota TLDM yang bertugas di perbatasan untuk disampaikan kepada rakyat bahawa di sebalik udara keamanan yang dihirup ada celoreng yang berkawal setiap detik dan waktu samada di sempadan hutan-hutan, pulau-pulau mahupun jauh di samudera. Sebahagian daripada kita kurang cakna berkenaan kisah anggota tentera yang hanya beralaskan nawaitu, bertekadkan semangat juang dan berbekalkan cinta pada agama serta negara, bertugas melaksanakan tanggungjawab dengan berada jauh dari sorotan duniawi dan rimba konkrit.
Sesuai dengan fungsi dan peranan semasa waktu aman, pada hari ini Helikopter Operasi Maritim (HOM) AW 139 dari Skuadron 503 telah melaksanakan operasi penerbangan ke semua SLP TLDM bertujuan untuk operasi Identification, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) di sekitar GSP dalam usaha mengesan pencerobohan oleh bot nelayan atau kapal asing. Kehadiran HOM AW 139 juga sebagai show of presence di kawasan yang menjadi tempat tuntutan bertindih di Kepulauan Spratly antara 5 buah negara termasuk China, Vietnam, Brunei, Filipina dan Malaysia. Selain kapal-kapal TLDM yang melaksanakan rondaan secara 24/7 dalam operasi yang dikenali sebagai Operasi Sinar Samudera (OSS) di bawah naungan Markas Pemerintahan Armada Timur (MPA Timur), kekerapan kehadiran aset-aset udara ATM di perairan tersebut membuktikan langkah kerajaan Malaysia yang serius dalam menuntut hak ke atas kelima-lima terumbu terbabit.
Dengan jarak 160 batu nautika dari Pangkalan TLDM Kota Kinabalu (PTKK), penerbangan HOM AW 139 ke Stesen Lima TLDM mengambil masa selama 1 jam 15 minit. Pesawat telah mendarat di Stesen Lima TLDM untuk refuel dan meneruskan semula operasi ISR di sekitar sektor rondaan OSS dan SLP TLDM. Pesawat HOM AW 139 diterbangkan oleh Lt Kdr Nur Aman bin Mohamed Poat TLDM dan Lt Kdr Mohd Khairur Adnan bin Baharudin TLDM telah berjaya melaksanakan pendaratan di semua helipad SLP TLDM.
Artikel: Lt Kdr Ahmad Fitri bin Alias TLDM, Juruterbang Operasi Skuadron 503
Foto: PW I AQM Sahardi bin Mohd Sayuti