Goodwill from RMN during OSTEX

The Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) has expanded the scope of its Operational Sea Training Exercise East (Ostex) to also include providing humanitarian service to residents on isolated islands in Sabah.
During the five-day exercise which ended today, the RMN set up a one-day medical camp at Pulau Libaran which received overwhelming response from the residents.

RMN Chief for Region 2 Admiral Datuk Ahmad Kamarulzaman Ahmad Badaruddin said the health camp offered health checks and dental treatment for local residents.

“We had anticipated only 150 people, but the response was overwhelming as by the end of the day, about 500 people, including from neighbouring islands, came for the service,” he told reporters after closing the exercise here today.

The camp was manned by two doctors and 15 medical assistants from the Medical and Dental Corps of the Malaysian Armed Forces (ATM).
Ahmad Kamarulzaman said such activities, besides helping to build the people’s confidence in the ATM, also helped to ease the burden of the local residents in having to go for health checks.

In view of the overwhelming response, he said RMN would include the medical camp in its future exercise.

Ostex East was conducted in the South China Sea and the Sulu Sea. A total of 300 RMN personnel were involved in the exercise which also involved the use of four vessels, two combat boats and a Super Lynx helicopter.