By Muhammad Faiz
LUMUT, 29 October 2016: A group of 296 cadets and 29 young lieutenants from Palapes Darat UIAM went on a trip to the Royal Malaysian Navy base in Lumut, Perak, as one of their activities during their five-day œKem Berterusan at Universiti Malaya.
They started the trip late at 5:49 a.m due to heavy rain in the morning and managed to arrive there at 11 a.m. Their arrival was warmly welcome by the naval officers there. Out of all the units in Royal Malaysian Navy, they went for a tour of PASKAL (abbreviated from Pasukan Khas Laut) or known as Naval Special Warfare Forces.
There, they were briefed on the overview of Naval Special Warfare Forces, its history, and the jobs and missions usually carried out by the Forces. After that, they visited the gallery which contained a lot of showpieces from their missions and training. The showpieces consists of pictures of their guns and clothes while on missions.
œThis trip is important because we can learn from the Navy on how they undertake their jobs and tasks even though we are from the Army Force. Most importantly, we can strengthen the bonds between Army Forces and Navy Forces since we are two out of the three which are the Army, Navy and Air Forces, said senior cadet Zuhairah when asked to explain about the benefits of the trip.
In the afternoon the cadets had the opportunity to visit the port to have a look at the warships. One of the warships is Kapal Diraja Hang Tuah that has been used from 1970s until now. This warship is considered till today as the only warship which does not have any problems whatsoever out of the others.
œI felt more patriotic than ever standing on this warship due to the fact that this warship has contributed a lot to our country and still standing today. I consider myself lucky to have this kind of opportunity to observe this warship up close, junior cadet Syakir told IIUMToday. ***