Military History of Malaysia - Royal Malaysian Navy

Royal Malaysian Navy

The Royal Malaysian Navy originated from the Straits Settlement Volunteer Reserve Force formed on 27 April 1934 in Singapore. The formation of a Penang branch in 1938 saw its expansion. When the Second World War broke out in 1939, Britain strengthened its Naval Force in Southeast Asia by forming a unit called the "Malay Section of The Royal Navy" to protect the security of Singapore and Malaya. This unit which consisted of 400 men underwent training at a training camp called HMMS Pelandok, a British naval base in Singapore. Expansion saw the unit increase to 1450 men during World War II. Due to shortage of funds, the British disbanded the force after World War II in April 1947. The Malayan Naval Forces was again created in 1948 in response to the Malayan Emergency with the loan of one landing ship and five fast surface launches from the Royal Navy. In 1953, HM Queen Elizabeth awarded the Malayan Navy a Royal status to become the Royal Malayan Navy. The first vessel was a minesweeper called HMS Penyu or Turtle. After independence, it was transferred from Singapore on 12 July 1958 as an independent sovereign navy. On 16 September 1963 it was renamed as the Tentera Laut Diraja Malaysia (Royal Malaysian Navy) in accordance to the formation of Malaysia.