scorpene - apa yang rahsia? by ladang batagar/Translation with thanks by sitadewi.

This was forwarded to me by Ladang Batagar - good reading. informative. Translation with thanks by sitadewi.

Scorpene - apa yang rahsia?

“Had we called for an open tender, we would have exposed our defence secret to the enemies…”

Ketika terbaca jawapan  timbalan menteri pertahanan kepada soalan yang diajukan wakil DAP di Parlimen pada hari Khamis 22hb Oktober, saya menyangka penyelenggara berita online tersilap. Mustahil seorang timbalan menteri yang ada gelaran ’Dr’ di hadapan namanya memberi jawapan sedemikian.

Pagi hari berikutnya, saya bergegas ke kedai 7 Eleven berhampiran untuk mencari kepastian. Akhbar Star dan the Sun pun membawa ungkapan serupa. Apalah agaknya ayat yang diguna oleh akhbar berbahasa Melayu. Mungkin berbeza mungkin sama. Sejak kedua-dua kumpulan akhbar ini terpaksa menukar kiblat ke Menara Dato Onn, saya sudah tidak lagi mengikuti omongan pemberita, penulis dan pengarangnya.

“Sekiranya kita menawarkan tender terbuka, kita akan mendedahkan rahsia pertahanan kepada musuh”. Mungkin begitulah lebih kurang maknanya jika diterjemah ke Bahasa Melayu.

Mujurlah wakil DAP yang mengajukan soalan sekadar melepas batuk di tangga. Ataupun macam robot yang telah diprogramkan. Asalkan ada soalan sudah memadai. Ketepatan dan kesahihan jawapannya tidak perlu dipersoal. Maka yang menjawab pun yakin ‘dalam kelompok orang-orang buta, yang celik sebelah mata menjadi raja’.

Musuh ? Malaysia bermusuh dengan negara mana agaknya. Tak mungkin. Rasanya beliau tersalah ungkap. Atau memang ketika ini Malaysia sedang bermusuhan dengan negara lain.

Israel ? Atau negara jiran yang mempunyai hubungan rapat dengan Israel ? Kalaulah itu yang dimaksudkan, bukan setakat spesifikasi scorpene, kekuatan dan kelemahan kapal selam itu sendiri pun bukan lagi rahsia. Lihat sahajalah bagaimana mereka memusnahkan hampir keseluruhan kekuatan pertahanan udara Mesir pada bulan Jun 1967 dalam apa yang dinamakan sebagai ‘peperangan enam hari’.

Atau, apa yang dimaksudkan sebagai musuh itu sebenarnya lebih merupakan ‘musuh kepada syarikat yang mendapat durian runtuh’. Kalau dibuat tender terbuka, tentunya ada yang boleh menawarkan pakej yang lebih kompetitif. Dan bila mana tender diberikan kepada syarikat yang menawarkan sebut-harga yang lebih tinggi dengan pakej serupa, maka terjadilah seperti mana yang berlaku dengan cadangan pembelian Eurocopter.   Kerana tender terbuka, semuanya terbuka. Dan syarikat yang gagal, yang merasa mereka tidak diberi peluang beraksi di gelanggang yang sama rata, tidak teragak-agak mendedahkan apa yang kononnya rahsia. ‘Siapa yang anda kenal lebih bermakna dari apa yang anda tahu’. (Whom you know is more important than what you know).

“mendedahkan rahsia pertahanan kepada musuh”

Sebelum adanya kemudahan internet, ‘Jane’s Fighting Ships’, sebuah terbitan tahunan (annual publications) menerbitkan senarai komprehensif kapal dan spesifikasi tentera laut lebih seratus enam puluh negara. Termasuklah TLDM. Kini, diera dunia tanpa sempadan, siapa yang berminat boleh melayari laman web ‘Jane’s Fighting Ships’ asalkan sanggup membayar yuran langganan. Apa yang dianggap rahsia sebenarnya sudah lama menjadi rahsia terbuka atau open secret.

KD Rahmat, Jebat dan Lekiu, tiga buah frigate yang ditempah khusus mengikut spesifikasi TLDM mungkin, diawal pembinaan, boleh dikategorikan sebagai rahsia kerana ketiga-tiga buah kapal perang tersebut adalah prototype. Kerana keprotoan itulah, ia mengambil masa enam tahun untuk disiapkan. Tiga tahun lewat dari jadual. Pun begitu, negara mana atau ‘musuh’ mana yang tidak tahu KD Rahmat adalah kapal pertama di Tenggara Asia yang dilengkapi peluru berpandu ‘Seacat’ laut ke udara (SAM). Apa yang masih menjadi rahsia hanyalah jumlah ‘sasaran’ yang dimusnahkan peluru berpandu KD Rahmat, Jebat dan Lekiu.  RTM yang membuat liputan ketika pertama kalinya (dan mungkin terakhir) KD Rahmat menguji peluru berpandu pada tahun 1976 tentu masih menyimpan rakaman yang begitu gah bunyinya “TLDM Berjaya melancarkan peluru berpandu laut ke udara…”

Kerana kejayaan itulah agaknya, maka enam tahun selepas peristiwa itu, pelancar kembar empat (quadruple launcher) KD Rahmat berpindah ke muzium.

Berbeza dengan scorpene. Siapa pun yang melayari internet akan dapat mengetahui bahawa syarikat pembuat kapal selam tersebut mengeluarkan tiga versi. Basic, basic-AIP dan compact. Malaysia pula bukan Negara tunggal yang memiliki kapal selam jenis ini. Yang membezakan antara scorpene milik Malaysia dengan yang dimiliki negara lain cuma kecekapan crew mengendali kapal itu sendiri. Harap-harap, janganlah ada kejadian lawak seperti dalam filem ‘Run Silent, Run Deep’ yang hampir memusnahkan kapal selam mereka sendiri.

Selepas kebakaran yang memusnahkan KD Seri Inderapura, tidak mustahil yang mustahil menjadi kenyataan.

“mendedahkan rahsia pertahanan kepada musuh”?

Skandal John Profumo dan Chritine Keeler di Britain pada tahun 1963 sepatutnya dijadikan iktibar betapa pentingnya pengasingan mereka yang terlibat dibidang pertahanan dengan wanita ‘asing’. Ketika kewarasan fikiran dikuasai nafsu, pandangan jadi kelabu. Profumo hilang pertimbangan. Dia tidak terfikir untuk mengetahui latar belakang Christine Keeler. Fikirannya hanya tertumpu pada tubuh perempuan itu. Walaupun warga Britain, tapi CK juga ada hubungan rapat denga Ivanov, seorang attaché Rusia (ketika itu Soviet Union) di London.

Malang bagi Profumo kerana orang Inggeris tidak pemaaf seperti orang Melayu. Jawatan sebagai setiausaha pertahanan terpaksa dilepaskan. Kalau di Malaysia tidak jadi masalah untuk dia mengekalkan jawatan kerana orang Malaysia mengamalkan (secara terpilih) budaya ‘maaf dan lupakan’ atau forgive and forget.

Kalau benar kementerian pertahanan menganggap pembelian scorpene perlu dirahsiakan demi keselamatan negara, kenapa pula syarikat yang dianugerahkan tender mengguna khidmat juru bahasa perempuan dari negara luar. Tidak adakah orang Malaysia sendiri yang fasih bertutur dalam Bahasa Perancis. Tidakkah terfikir kemungkinan orang luar itu adalah klon  wanita yang ditiduri Profumo. Ataupun mempunyai DNA yang hampir sama.

Kita boleh perbodoh sekelompok manusia setiap masa, dan semua orang  pada satu-satu ketika, tapi jangan lupa ada masanya kita pula yang memperbodoh diri sendiri

Translation with thanks to Sitadewi

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“Had we called for an open tender, we would have exposed our defense secret to the enemies”.

That was the reply from deputy defense minister to a question from the opposition member of parliament on Thursday, 22^nd October. My first impression was that the online news portal had erred. How could a deputy minister with a Dr prefix before his name eke out such reply.

The following morning, I hurried to the nearest 7 Eleven store to pick up the Sun and Star newspapers. Both quoted similar reply. I wonder how would it appear in the Malay newspapers. Will it be similar or different ? I could not envisage because I have lost touch with both publications. I have not been reading them for so long, especially so after they have made Menara Dato Onn (HQ for UMNO) as their directions of worship.  

“Sekiranya kita menawarkan tender terbuka, kita akan mendedahkan rahsia pertahanan kepada musuh”. That could have possibly been the translation.

Fortunately, the DAP Parliamentarian who raised the question did so just for the sake of asking. Or perhaps he was just another preprogrammed robot. As long as there is a question to ask, his parliamentary responsibility is done. The reply, be it relevant or otherwise is of secondary importance. Little wonder, the person providing the answer think that ‘among the blind, the one-eyed is king’.

Enemy ? Which country is our probable enemy. Perhaps it was just a slip of the tongue. Or maybe, it’s true that Malaysia is not at peace with another country.

Is it Israel ? Or a neighboring country or countries which are closely associated with Israel .. Should that be what he meant, the scorpene specifications as well as its strength and weaknesses are no more secret. Remember how Israel annihilated the Egyptian air force during the six day war of June 1967.

Or, what is meant by enemy is in reality ‘the enemy to the company that was given the contract on a silver platter’. Had there been an open tender, there will surely be a competitor or competitors that can quote competitive price with identical package. And when the bidder that quoted the highest is given the job, those rejected will not have second thought of disclosing the way the tender was conducted.. The Eurocopter tender is a case in point.  “Who you know is more important than what you know” is no mere perception. It is a reality.

“Exposing our defense secret to the enemy”

‘Jane’s Fighting Ships’ is an annual publication that came into existence long before we hear of ‘Google’. It provides reference for those who are interested to know about warships dating as far back as the nineteenth century. It publishes comprehensive information for more than one hundred sixty navies of the world including Malaysia . With the advent of the internet, its website is opened to subscribers all over the world. What was once considered as secret has now become an open secret.   

KD Rahmat, Jebat and Lekiu, the three frigates that were specially built and tailor made for the Royal Malaysian Navy could, in its initial stage, probably be classified as secret. Secret in the sense that the three ships were the only type ever built. Since the three were prototype, it took Yarrow Shipyard more than six years to complete – three long years behind schedule. Even then, which country or which ‘enemy’ that do not know that KD Rahmat is the first warship in South East Asia to be equipped with ‘Seacat’ surface to air missile (SAM). The only thing that beg an answer is the amount of targets that were shot down by the missiles from the three frigates. Perhaps, RTM which covered the first (or was it the last) launching of the Seacat missile in 1976 still keep in its archive the footage with the headline “TLDM had successfully ‘launched’ her surface to air missile…”

Ironically, six years after the launching, the quadruple launcher was replaced by a 40/70 Bofors. Isn’t it what we call regression !

As for scorpene, it is no secret that the shipyard built three versions with varied specifications namely Basic, Basic-AIP and compact. Since Malaysia is not the only owner of the scorpene, the question of secrecy therefore has become irrelevant. What is of prime importance is the efficiency of the sailors manning the boat. Hopefully, the comedy in the film ‘run silent run deep’ whereby the submarine’s torpedo made an about turn that nearly ‘makan tuan’ is just a comedy to make us laugh.

After what happened to KD Seri Inderapura, I dread to think of the probabilities.

“Exposing our defense secret to the enemy”

The widely publicized scandal between John Profumo and Christine Keeler in 1963 that rocked the British Government should have made us realize the importance of screening person or persons who were entrusted with the county’s secrets. Out of lust, Profumo failed to scrutinize the background of the woman he was sleeping with. His thoughts were clouded by his sexual desire. Little did he realize that CK is closely associated with Ivanov, a senior Soviet Attache based in London .

John Profumo, the secretary of state for war did not only lose his job but also his dignity. Had he been in Malaysia , he would have been forgiven for jeopardizing the security of his country. Unfortunately for him, the British are not as forgiving as the Malays. The Malays are well versed in selective practice of “forgive and forget”.

If the defense ministry is really serious about the security of  the country, why did it allowed a foreigner and a lady to be the interpreter. Was it not possible to find a Malaysian who is well versed in French. Did it not cross the mind of those people that the foreign interpreter could have been a clone of Christine Keeler. Or has similar DNA.

We can fool some of the people all of the time, and all the people some of the time, but lest we forget, there are time when we make a fool of ourselves.