For more than three decades now, Lumut has played host to the largest Malaysian naval base in the country Recognising the contributions of this town from a laidback fishing enclave, Lumut finally has been officially declared as Navy Town.
The declaration was made by Perak ruler Sultan Azlan Shah yesterday in conjunction with the Royal Malaysian Nany (RMN) Diamond Jubilee celebrations which coincides with the 25th anniversary of the ruler’s reign.
With the royal declaration, Lumut joins the prestigious list of navy towns around the world, similar to Sweden’s Karlskrona, South Africa’s Simon’s Town, the United Kingdom’s Portsmouth, Australia’s Sydney, Germany’s Kiel and the United States’ Norfolk and New Port. In his speech, RMN chief Admiral Datuk Seri Abdul Aziz Jaafar said Lumut fitted the three criteria incumbent of a navy town.
“The first is that Lumut is known among Malaysians as the ‘The Home of Royal Malaysian Navy’. The second is that the town has become a stop-over for foreign navy ships, enhancing Lumut’s reputation as a centre of military tourism.
“The third criterion is that the naval and maritime activities have contributed immensely to the town’s development and increased the socio-economic status of the local people,” he said.
Aziz said at least 43 per cent of the 55,800 people living in Lumut were made up of RMN personnel, jesting that the figure did not include navy retirees. He said RMN would continue to contribute to the development of Lumut as well as the neighbouring towns of Manjung and Sitiawan.
