Admiral Thana's legacy lives on after 55 years

K Thanabalasingam took over as the first Malaysian
chief of the Royal Malaysian Navy in 1967.

Among his many accomplishments, K Thanabalasingam is responsible for the design of the Royal Malaysian Navy's ensign that is still being used today.

27 Apr 2023

PETALING JAYA: He may not be a household name, but K Thanabalasingam is a true trailblazer.

The first Malaysian chief of the Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN), Thana, as he is fondly known, is also the person who designed its ensign which still flies high today.

When he took over as navy chief in 1967, Thana felt strongly that its British-designed ensign, which featured the St George's cross, was inappropriate for an independent Malaysia.

One year later, he came out with a new design that better reflected the nation.

"I wanted a design that did not incoporate any religious element," he told FMT in an interview in conjunction with Navy Day today.

K Thanabalasingam held the rank of Rear Admiral when he retired at the age of 40.

The modest 87-year-old, however, refuses to take full credit for the design. He simply wanted the ensign to have a Malaysian identity, he said.

Thana instead paid tribute to the first Malaysian prime minister Tunku Abdul Rahman, who he described as open-minded and accommodating.

Tunku's deputy and then defence minister Abdul Razak Hussein was equally thrilled with Thana's suggestion.

"However, its implementation was not straightforward. First, I had to submit sketches of the new ensign accompanied by an explanation to the Armed Forces Council (AFC) for its consideration and approval.

"The AFC approved it unanimously. The proposal was then forwarded to the King, the supreme commander of the armed forces, for his consent. The new design was implemented only after the King's consent was secured," Thana said.

It was only then that Thana was able to direct RMN to give effect to the change, which was effected without formal ceremony.

The successful implementation of the new ensign was not Thana's first major triumph with the navy.

Patrolling the Malaysian waters during the country's three-year confrontation with Indonesia which began in 1963, Thana became acutely aware of the disparity between the territorial waters claimed by Indonesia, which stretched for 12 nautical miles, as compared with to Malaysia's three.

"When I was appointed chief, I raised this issue with the defence minister. However, since so many ministries, the AG's Chambers and other government departments and agencies had to be involved, it took time," he said.

When things began to return to normal after the May 13, 1969 incident, Thana again brought up the matter up with Razak, risking the then prime minister's ire.

K Thanabalasingam welcoming Tunku Abdul Rahman
during a visit to the Woodlands naval base in 1969.

"Tun Razak discussed it with key government personnel including then chief secretary to the government, Kadir Shamsuddin, the then home minister Ghazali Shaffie, and legal experts, among others," he said.

Malaysia's territorial waters were eventually extended to 12 nautical miles under the Emergency Ordinance as Parliament had ceased to function at the time.

"I felt enormously satisfied that I played a small but significant part in the extension of our territorial waters," he said.

While all this was happening, Razak sent for Thana and ordered him to begin the process of relocating the RMN from its base in Singapore back to Malaysian soil.

When asked Razak where he wished to set up the navy's new base, Razak simply told Thana to put it wherever he thought suitable.

The British ensign and the one K Thanabalasingam designed.

"I happily blurted out 'Lumut, Sir', provided a feasibility study proved its suitably."

Tunku had initially insisted that the base be located at Port Klang, said Thana.

"He remained adamant despite Razak requests and my personal pleas," he said.

Then the May 13 riots took place, which triggered a declaration of emergency. It was then that Razak, appointed director of the National Operations Council, asked Thana to proceed with his Lumut plans.

While the May 13 incident may have helped his plans to relocate the navy base to Lumut, it also indirectly curtailed his career and made him "retire" prematurely at the young age of 40 at the end of 1976 after the government introduced the New Economic Policy.

He retired holding the rank of Rear Admiral, the highest in the navy at that time.