steadyaku47

Tuesday 13 October 2009

berakhirnya riwayat KD Seri Inderapura - English translation follows.




I have just received this from one of our Friends in the Navy...It is in Bahasa - can someone please translate. For now read this and share with others !




Dear brother,

If you think the contents of this email are nothing more than rubbish, please ignore. I do not know how to write in English, so I write in Malay. If you think like what my thoughts are, you can translate and edit the contents and publish it in your very popular blog. Perhaps you could open up the sleepy eyes of zahid hamidi and company.

berakhirnya riwayat KD Seri Inderapura

Terkejut. Terperanjat.
Bukan terkejut kerana kapal itu terbakar. Kebakaran di atas kapal memang perkara biasa.
Terkejut kerana ia memakan masa lapan jam sebelum kebakaran dapat dikawal sepenuhnya. Terkejut kerana kejadian berlaku di atas kapal tentera laut dimana latihan memadam kebakaran adalah satu kemestian yang diamalkan setiap hari.
Terperanjat kerana tahap kemusnahan membuatkan kapal tersebut dikategorikan dalam keadaan ‘beyond economical repair’ (B.E.R.)


KD Rahmat, kapal frigate ’state of the art’ (ketika itu) yang ditempah khusus oleh kerajaan Malaysia dipertengahan dekad enam puluhan dengan nama asalnya KD Hang Jebat kerap juga mengalami keadaan serupa. Bermacam jenis kebakaran berlaku semasa sedang dalam pembinaan mahupun setelah diserahkan kepada TLDM. Namun ia tidak seteruk yang menimpa KD Seri Inderapura.


Kalau dicatit insiden-insiden kebakaran di KD Rahmat, rekod kapal ini tidak mungkin dapat diatasi oleh kapal-kapal TLDM yang lain.


Sekembali ke tanah air setelah lebih tiga tahun terlewat dari jadual, KD Rahmat lebih banyak menghabiskan masa bertambat di Malaysian Base Jetty (MBJ) Woodlands. Semasa bertugas dari tahun 1976 hingga 1977, cuma lebih kurang sebulan ia berada di laut, belayar meredah Laut Cina Selatan untuk dipertontonkan di perairan Sabah dan Sarawak, dibuka kepada orang awam di tambatan Rejang, Labuan dan Tawau.


Seingatnya, tiga kebakaran berlaku ditahun itu yang melibatkan ’generator, switchboard dan engine turbine’. Namun kebakaran-kebakaran itu tidak mengambil masa lama untuk dikawal. 


Bekas anggota TLDM pra Lumut tentu masih ingat betapa setiap petang, latihan atau ‘drill’ memadam kebakaran adalah kemestian dalam tugas harian. Di pangkalan TLDM KD Malaya di Woodlands dulu, setiap jam 5 petang, pegawai bertugas hari itu atau ‘officer of the day’ (O.O.D.) akan mengarahkan laskar-laskar bertugas yang berkumpul di hadapan ibu pejabat bomba berhampiran ‘main gate’, kesesuatu tempat dalam masa yang ditentukan. Sekiranya gagal menepati sasaran masa, O.O.D. akan mengarahkan ianya diulang. Dan diulang sehingga berjaya.


Sampai ke tempat yang diarahkan dalam masa tertentu tidak bererti latihan untuk petang itu sudah selesai. Dua atau tiga gulung hose yang disambung ke pili bomba mesti dapat menyalurkan air ke ‘nozzle’ di hujung hose. Begitulah telitinya latihan yang dipusakai dari Royal Navy.


Latihan yang sama juga dipraktikkan di kapal. 
Nama-nama seperti Lt Ooi yang lebih di kenali sebagai ‘zero zero one’, Lt Teoh dari RMNVR dan Lt Khusaini adalah sebahagian dari kelompok O.O.D. yang digeruni kerana ketegasan dan ketelitian mereka. Pegawai-pegawai tersebut tidak pernah berkompromi. Mungkin mereka juga tidak pernah mengidamkan sanjungan negatif “…O.O.D. ni ok. Dia cincai aje…”. Atau mereka cukup arif bahawa dalam menangani kebakaran, setiap saat adalah kritikal. Ketangkasan ‘fire fighters’ dapat meminimakan tahap kemusnahan.
Masih wujudkah lagi pegawai-pegawai sedemikian. Atau masih diamalkan lagikah latihan-latihan yang mengutamakan ketangkasan. Atau yang tinggal kini cuma latihan-latihan sekadar melepas batuk di tangga.


Mungkin itukah sebabnya kenapa ‘epitaph’ KD Rahmat berbeza dengan KD Seri Inderapura?


Lazimnya, setiap ‘compartment’ kapal memiliki alat pemadam api mudah alih. Walaupun keberkesanan alat-alat sedemikian terbatas namun ia boleh dimunafaatkan oleh ’crew’ yang cekap dan terlatih. Pun begitu, sekiranya api sudah marak, ’crew’ yang cekap dan terlatih akan dapat menguasai tekanan, berfikir secara rasional dan bertindak sewajarnya.
Bertindak sewajarnya…di tempat-tempat stratejik di ‘passage way’ tersedia gulungan hose pemadam api yang menggunakan air laut. Sekiranya alat penyedut dapat berfungsi dengan baik, tidak timbul masalah untuk ‘water pump’ menyalurkan air kedalam hos.
 Sekiranya. Dan sekiranya faktor maanusia dan jentera dapt beroperasi sewajarnya, riwayat KD Seri Inderpura tidak berakhir sedemikian.


Persoalannya…dapatkah ‘water pump’ atau motor ini berfungsi sebaiknya ketika diperlukan. Mereka yang arif dengan sikap dan tahap senggaraan orang-orang Malaysia, persoalan ini menimbulkan seribu tanda tanya.


Apakah kita akan terperanjat sekiranya jawapan mendukacitakan.
Ataupun jawapannya juga sudah pun ditalkinkan bersama penyemadian KD Seri Inderapura.

Malaysia boleh kan. Semuanya boleh disapu ke bawah tikar.


English translation:



The demise of KD Seri Inderapura
Surprised? Shocked?
No I am not surprised because a ship sustained fire damage. Fire on board is indeed a normal thing. What I am surprised at is that it took a time-consuming eight-hours before the fire was brought under control! Eight hours! Surprised because the ability to fight and control any fire on board a Navy Vessel is ingrained and drummed into sailors on a daily basis. And I am shocked that despite this the destruction of KD Inderapura is so severe that the ship is categorized as  ‘beyond economical repair' (BER.)

KD Rahmat, a ’state of the art' (then) frigate tailor-made specifically by the Malaysian government in the mid sixties (originally the KD Hang Jebat) frequently also experienced the same problems. A number of fires occurred while it was still under construction and even after it was handed over to RMN. However it is not as bad as that which befell KD Seri Inderapura.

If fact the fire incidents on KD Rahmat is the highest amongst all ships within the RMN.

KD Rahmat was completed three years later then scheduled. In fact KD Rahmat spend more time berthed at the Malaysian Base Jetty (MBJ) Woodlands then going on maneuvers. During 1976 to 1977, KD Rahmat spent only about one month at sea, sailing through the South Chinese Sea in Sabah waters and Sarawak. It was also open to the  public in Rejang, Labuan and Tawau.

If my memory serves me right three fires occurred in that year which involved the generator, switchboard and the engine turbine. However these fires were brought under control within a very short time because of the ability of its crew to handle the emergency situations.


TLDM personnel from Lumut can surely still remember how every evening, training or ‘drill' fire fighting is done on a daily basis. In KD TLDM base Malaya in Woodlands at 5 o'clock in the afternoon the duty  ‘officer of the day' (OOD) will direct lascar work while all gathered before the nearby fire-brigade office. If you failed to meet the target time, OOD will direct it to be done again. And again. And repeated until done right!
This fire fighting drill is drummed into us on a daily basis because our ability to do this drill well will determine the safety of our Navy Vessels and the lives of its crew.

Fire fighting drill training was also practiced on board our vessels. Names such as Lt Ooi more known as  ‘zero zero one', Lt Teoh from RMNVR and Lt Khusaini are some of those OOD who were much revered and respected for their firmness and insistence that these drills must be done the correct way. These officers do not compromise on any aspect of the training.  There will not accept that “this …OOD ok. He slipshod aje…”. They understood that in fighting a fire on board a vessel every second is critical. The better the ‘fire fighters’ the better their ability to minimize destruction level.

Are there still Officers of this caliber in the Navy? Or are these Fire Fighting” drills being practiced purely as a routine exercise without drumming into the trainees the critical aspect of their work – that time was critical in saving a Ship and lives? That their prowess as fire fighters will make the difference between saving a ship or will mean its destruction? It would seem that these exercises are now being carried out without the dedication and commitment present during the time of those officers that I have mentioned before.
Maybe that was the difference between KD Rahmat and  KD Seri Inderapura?

Usually, each ‘compartment' in a ship will have its own portable fire extinguisher tool. The effectiveness of these fire extinguisher tools will depend on the ability of its fire fighters to do their work. A well-trained crew will be able to do their work in a control and rational way and will be able to bring a fire under control in the shortest possible time.
If the ‘fire fighters’ within KD Seri Inderapura were able to effectively use these fire extinguisher tools placed in their strategic ‘passage way’ and use the available roll hose fire extinguisher which uses sea water – then with these fire fighting tools and well drilled fire fighters – KD Seri Inderapura would still be with us today.
The question today is were the ‘fire fighter’ within KD Seri Inderapura adequately trained? Why did it take eight hours for the fire on board to be brought under control? Were the water pump and the motors working when needed? Were the maintenance level and attitude of the personals on board KD Seri Inderapura wanting in their ability to meet an emergency situation as the one that occurred and resulted in its demise?
These are the questions that the Navy needs to answer or has it been answered with the demise of KD Seri Inderapura?
Answers are needed here and this matter should not be swept under the carpet again.



20 comments:

  1. That's it, the word is "sikap dan tahap senggaraan orang-orang Malaysia" (virtually means the attitude and the standards of maintenance of the Malaysians). What about it? It is a "Situation Normal All Fuck Up or SNAFU" that the incident has ended up with no inquiry and investigation and even if public attention is stirred and the government will act only upon the call for inquiry, the outcome will come out nothing than just NOTHING other than a justification and a proposal for a new purchase for replacement.

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  2. Nothing left to say except "Satu Lagi Projek Kerajaan Barisan Najis"







    sunwayopal
    http://www.myrealestate.com.my

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  3. The main reason the ship burnt the way it did was because there wasn't sufficient and reliable fire fighting equipments on board ship!

    LOOK PANGLIMA TLDM WHAT HAVE YOU TO SAY!

    MIGHT AS WELL RESIGN!

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  4. komando,

    It is more than just insufficient fire extinguisher, and it takes more than just fire extinguisher to make a general resign. Establish any theory for we may have all logical theories and we must prove the theory to prove another and another, but that is the job of investigators. It has everything to do with the ship's fire fighting system, fire prevention system, fire suppression system, fire alarm and the fire drill, and that system is more than just fire extinguisher.

    By that alone, it will invite hell lot of people to the inquiry board (if any) and the one to answer the most is the CO of the ship for all his responsibility in handling that fateful day. And if there is going to be any inquiry and any investigation, the report will be made an OSA where we only get to know just the "result".

    On that fateful day, 8th Oct 2009, the Defence Minister who was on location at Bagan Pinang had to rush to Putrajaya to answer call from Najib who was oversea. Now 5 days after the incident, all we heard was Inderapura is an old ship and then quiet.

    With UMNO (not BN) still drowned in the jubilation of Bagan Pinang and PAS (not Pakatan) still in deep mourning, we will have to wait until the dust and smoke of the battle settled down before the Pakatan (not just PAS) pull themselves together to fight over an old ship's "unnatural" death by fire.

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  5. This is the first procurement
    project for Zahid Hamidi, a 'new ship'

    And that means, commission.(commision is not bribery ! not an offence, remember submarine!)

    That was why it was left on fire for 8 hrs.

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  6. Salam to all,

    When I was with Telecoms way back in the sixties, there was this last 'orang putih' officer by the name of Mr. Thomson. Whenever he visited any communication switch room to inspect or discuss any issues of the day, his either hands will be feeling for something somewhere in that room. He can't even tolerate dust sitting on shelves, tables or anywhere. If his fingers get dirtied by some dust, you bet, whomever was on duty will get a good sounding. "Your house can be whatever you like it to be, but in this switch room I don't want even a speck of dust because DUST will impede the quality of communication, understand? Now go get some cloth and clean them now!!". He will stand there and watch you do the clean-up. Dust is a big deal for this white man, because he owes the public a good service, and mind you, all local calls then are FOC, yet he did not compromise in giving the best service possible. How I wish the attitude of our govt servants mirrored that of the 'orang putih'.

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  7. zamberi...posted that comment to share with others...ok tak?

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  8. Dear HH,

    The first ship Captain who brought home the vessel from the US is a friend of mine, and he almost dropped dead upon hearing the bad news. My sympathy to Laksma Noor Azman.

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  9. I believe the crew of that fateful ship could not remember when was the last time they tested the 'seawater suction pump'. And when it was really needed, the pump could not even start.

    And I also believe that the other ships are now busy testing their pumps and conducting fire drills until such time that they will again 'fall asleep'...out of complacency.

    How di I know?

    I was also in the Navy maaa. The difference are that I was trained by the Mat Salih at HMS TERROR, the Royal Navy base in Sembawang. Before the practical training,we were shown films of ships on fire due to enemy bombardment during the second world war.

    Try show the same films to our navy personnel nowadays...they will yawn and fall asleep because they could not understand the message. The language is alien to them.

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  10. XRMN,

    Correct me as you wish, what is an LST?, and Inderapura is one LST we bought it 2nd hand, costing some tens of million? A Landing Ship Transport (LST), a transport ship, just like our Nuri (Sikorsky) helicopter for RMAF, or Chinook (we don't have that). The main purpose is to land troops and vehicles in a seaborne operation like the D-Day landing in WW2 France. And we have a few, the Indonesian Navy has plenty old LSTs still in service. How many times have we been exercising with real troops in a seaborne exercise? You can count with your fingers and no more than all your fingers in one hand.

    I guess the maintenance for Inderapura is high just like other old things and probably the reasons for negligence are ever present that the ship better die than becoming a burden. But then that's no way to terminate an old ship dishonourably.

    If ever Inderapura's death will be used to get a new replacement, first thing first, its death must be investigated, otherwise there will be many more similar death to other old RMN's Kapal Diraja as a way for Malaysian Navy to get new ships.

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  11. Sad to see such 'tidak apa' attitude pervading the Armed Forces.

    The upper echelon (General/Flag rank) are busy playing politics & sucking up to political masters.

    The middle ranking (Field grade officers) are busy sucking up to Generals for promotion & cushy assignments. That leaves the Company grade officers will little guidance & worse of all, setting a bad example on how to rise up the promotion ladder.

    We always say how bad the mat salleh/Brits were, but in reality, without them, we will never have a systematic infrastructure that withstood the test of time. It is only our 'tidak apa' that has eroded the system.

    If S'pore, with the same systematic infrastructure, can carry on & grow, why cant we?

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  12. Panglima Angkatan Tentera dan Zahid Hamidi mesti jawab kalau tak nak jawab letak jawatan terutama nya Panglima Angkatan Tentera.
    Kita tunggu la proosal untuk new purchase dan bolih dapat komisen but just for some people only.
    But the truth, there are so many screw up in our defence and what we saw now is only one-The Air Force is even worst with the asset can only fly on the ground.
    Hopefully, there is no war or otherwise since you are in Australia then you will be the only Melayu that will survive.
    Sometime, wonder!!! are Malaysians well protected with mostly incompetent running the organizaton?????!!!!! Berdoa sahaja lah since we have no power nothing can be done!!! so sorry!!!! oh Malaysia ku.

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  13. sorri, it's all GREEKS to me laa !

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  14. Aiyoh...buy new one again! Whose money? Got commission? We taxpayers have to bear the brunt again! So convenient that the ship cannot be saved despite all the fire fighting training and auto fire/damage control devices installed on board.

    If our naval standards have gone down, I pity the other boats that we have or the subs manned by the naval personnel.

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  15. Aiyoh...buy new one again! Whose money? Got commission? We taxpayers have to bear the brunt again! So convenient that the ship cannot be saved despite all the fire fighting training and auto fire/damage control devices installed on board.

    If our naval standards have gone down, I pity the other boats that we have or the subs manned by the naval personnel.

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  16. Aiyoh...buy new one again! Whose money? Got commission? We taxpayers have to bear the brunt again! So convenient that the ship cannot be saved despite all the fire fighting training and auto fire/damage control devices installed on board.

    If our naval standards have gone down, I pity the other boats that we have or the subs manned by the naval personnel.

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  17. Let's not dwell on the doomed ship. She is gone for good.

    Now lets focus on the two 'altantuya' submarines that have just reached Malaysian waters.

    My brother-in-law, a retired TLDM technical personnel who are now working around Lumut revealed a shocking and unbelievable 'jinx' that befell one of the submarines.

    What good is a submarine if it could not submerge. That's what is happening now. The software controlling the 'ballast' tank are faulty. And it seems that our engineers are unable to rectify and have to S.O.S. France for assistance.

    So, I told my brother-in-law that the sailors on board have to take additional life insurance in case in future, the 'altantuya curse' will prevent the submerged submarine from resurfacing.

    Goodness, what an eerie feeling to be onboard such vessel.

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  18. hi xrmn..have posted that on the font page - have to share that with our frinds..hope you don't mind. regards.

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  19. WHO cares !? .....someone got 500juta
    & aku NOTHING ! @#$%^&* !

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  20. I guess the comments posted are inaccurate. From my "close" observation, it was an accident. The RMN has always paid a close attention to safety.The RMN chief always reminded everyone to put safety as the highest priority. His slogan is safety, safety and safety!With regards to the actual cause, let the official investigation do their part and await for the result. Guess the RMN is as keen as anyone to know the cause of the fire and to learn from the 'mistake' if any.Lets not make this incident to blemish the RMN. She has contributed much to the nation. Ask yourself, how many of you out there who are willing to sail with the ship on duty to protect the sovereignty of the country for months, leaving behind love ones to mend for themselves? And doing that at their most productive years (20 to 45 years old!)
    Sea horse

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