His Royal Highness Prince Haji Al-Muhtadee Billah ibni His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah, the Crown Prince and Senior Minister at the Prime Minister’s Office, officiated the Commissioning Ceremony of Patrol Vessel Kapal Diraja Brunei (KDB) Al-Faruq at Jetty Bravo, Muara Naval Base yesterday.
The ceremony coincided with the 9th Young Leaders’ Programme (YLP) between the Sultanate and Singapore.
Upon arrival, His Royal Highness was greeted by Minister at the Prime Minister’s Office and Minister of Defence II Pehin Datu Lailaraja Major General (Rtd) Dato Paduka Seri Haji Awang Halbi bin Haji Mohd Yussof, Commander of the Royal Brunei Armed Forces (RBAF) Major General Dato Paduka Seri Haji Muhammad Haszaimi bin Bol Hassan and Acting Commander of the Royal Brunei Navy (RBN) Captain Haji Mohamad Sarif Pudin bin Matserudin.
Members of the 9th YLP delegation from Singapore, led by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Lawrence Wong were also in attendance.
The delegation includes Senior Minister and Coordinating Minister for National Security Teo Chee Hean; Senior Minister of State at the Ministry of Defence and Ministry of Manpower Zaqy Mohamad; Permanent Secretary (Defence) Chan Heng Kee and Chief of the Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) Rear Admiral Sean Wat Jianwen.
The ceremony commenced with His Royal Highness receiving the royal salute and inspecting the parade comprising 109 RBN personnel led by Lieutenant Commander Mohammad Shahrul Idham bin Haji Bongsu, RBN.
His Royal Highness then proceeded to the commissioning dais, where the recitation of Surah Al-Fatihah was led by Acting Director of RBAF Religious Directorate (JAMA’AT) Lieutenant Colonel Abdul Mujib bin Haji Japar.
His Royal Highness also delivered the commissioning sabda and bestowed KDB Al-Faruq with its commissioning pennant presented to Commanding Officer of KDB Al-Faruq Lieutenant Commander Khairul Anwar bin Pengiran Haji Abu Bakar, RBN.
It proceeded with the inaugural hoisting of the Commissioning Pennant and RBN ensign, accompanied by the national anthem.
The commissioning was further blessed with the calling of the Azan by Lieutenant Ahmad Zubair bin Abdul Nasir and recitation of Doa Selamat by the JAMA’AT Acting Director, after which His Royal Highness was invited for a tour onboard the vessel.
The ceremony concluded with a group photograph session before proceeding to the RBN Officers’ Mess for an executive session between His Royal Highness and Singapore 9th YLP delegation as well as key leaders from the Ministries of Defence, Armed Forces and Navies of Brunei and Singapore followed by a royal luncheon.
The handing over of the ship from the RSN, previously known as RSS Dauntless, is a testament of the close collaboration between the Armed Forces and Navies of the Sultanate and Singapore.
The renaming of the ship from RSS Dauntless to KDB Al-Faruq, which is translated to “courageous”, referring to one of RBAF’s core values and is an essential element for RBN. The trait also builds a character with high integrity in defending Brunei’s maritime sovereignty.
The Commissioning Ceremony of KDB Al-Faruq marks the completion of the Patrol Vessel Transfer Project between the RBN and RSN involving the handing over of two RSN Fearless-Class patrol vessels, where the first patrol vessel transfer, the KDB As-Siddiq was commissioned on March 21, 2023. The endeavour marked a significant milestone in developing and enhancing cooperation and defence diplomacy between Brunei and Singapore, while becoming a core part of the historic development of the RBN in particular, and RBAF as a whole.
