'Old horse' Thanabalasingam touched by award from King

By : Adrian David

KUALA LUMPUR: At 72, little did Rear-Admiral (R) Tan Sri K. Thanabalasingam realise that he would still be honoured by the government.

Thus, it was a pleasant surprise for the country’s first local Royal Malaysian Navy chief, who served from 1967 to 1976, to be bestowed with the Panglima Setia Mahkota award by Yang di-Pertuan Agong Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin earlier this month.

"It was totally unexpected. I thought they had forgotten ‘old horses’ like me," said a jovial Thana, as he is fondly known.

"Since receiving my award from the King, I have been deluged with congratulatory messages from friends, politicians and navy personnel, past and present.

"I was overcome with emotion when some of the messages read the title conferment as ‘long overdue, about time and high time’.
"I owe it all to the navy which is like family to me, being a bachelor," said Thana, at a reception hosted by the Brittania Royal Naval College (BRNC) alumni at the Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club in Bukit Kiara on Tuesday.

About 100 of the 300 BRNC alumni members, who graduated from the prestigious instituition at Dartmouth, England, attended the reception held to honour their patrons Thana and current RMN chief Admiral Tan Sri Ramlan Mohamed Ali for being bestowed the Tan Sri title.

Thana said the investiture ceremony was not only memorable but also historical as two navy chiefs of different generations were awarded the PSM simultaneously.

Thana reminisced how during his days as RMN chief, he often punished officers "who could not hold their drinks".

"I was harsh, more so to discipline and make them credible sailors. I even thought of myself almost insane to lead the navy at the young age of 31 and then retire at 40," said Thana, who left the navy prematurely but went on to serve as a director of several corporate organisations and manage his marine consultancy firm.

Thana recalled a moment in 1968 when the country’s first prime minister Tunku Abdul Rahman consulted him over the threat posed by the Philippines over its claim to Sabah.

"I became acting Armed Forces chief when Gen Tunku Osman Jiwa was away attending a meeting in Bangkok.

"Philippines aircraft were buzzing our ships and Tunku told us that the British were withdrawing troops east of the Suez, including Singapore.

"Tunku wanted our navy vessels to be equipped with missiles to counter the Filipino threat.

"We were in a predicament as we were not allowed to store the missiles at the Woodlands base in (newly-sovereign) Singapore.

"So we made provisions to place them in Johor. That’s when we realised the need for our own naval base in Lumut," said Thana.

In his opening address, BRNC president Admiral (R) Tan Sri Abu Bakar Abdul Jamal, who was RMN chief between 1998 and 2002, said the reception was a fitting occasion to honour a "Morris Minor" like Thana and a "Proton Gen 2" like Ramlan.

"Often, we only meet during weddings and funerals. This is one occasion to catch up and collect ‘old debts’.

"You will notice the seating arrangements are based on seniority and senility," he joked.

On the conferment of the Tan Sri title to Thana, Abu Bakar said: "It should have come a long time ago. Apparently, they were waiting for Thana to get married. But it was not to happen."

Abu Bakar poked fun at Thana for over indulgence in golf until the putter became his walking stick.

Thana took over the RMN from Commodore A.N. Dollard of the Royal Australian Navy, who served from 1965.

The first RMN chief was Commodore E.D. Norman (1957-1960) who was succeeded by Captain W.J. Dovers (1960-1962), both from the British Royal Navy.

Except for the late Vice-Admiral (R) Datuk Mohd Zain Mohd Salleh, who replaced Thana and served until 1986, and the late Vice-Admiral (R) Tan Sri Mohd Shariff Ishak, who was RMN chief from 1990 to 1995, the rest of the former chiefs attended the reception.

Present were Vice-Admiral (R) Tan Sri Abdul Wahab Nawi (1986-1990), Vice-Admiral (R) Datuk Seri Ahmad Ramli Mohd Noor (1995-1998), Admiral (R) Datuk Mohd Ramly Abu Bakar (2002-2003), Admiral (R) Tan Sri Mohd Anwar Mohd Nor (2003-2005) and Admiral (R) Tan Sri Ilyas Din (2005-2006).

In 2005, Mohd Anwar broke tradition as the first non-army chief to become Armed Forces chief until his retirement earlier this year.

Coincidentally, Thana, Anwar, 57, and Ilyas, 56, celebrate their birthdays on March 12.