Prince Charles visits M'sian Air Force Base in Butterworth

GEORGE TOWN: The Prince of Wales, Prince Charles today expressed his concern on the Five Power Defence Arrangements (FPDA) based in the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RAMF) in Butterworth, here.
RAMF Butterworth Acting Base Commander Colonel Amer Mahmud Abdul Rahman said Prince Charles expressed his concern during the one-hour visit to the RAMF base, which was part of the maiden visit to Malaysia of the heir to the British throne.
"His Royal Highness was attracted and concerned about the FPDA (Five-Power Defence Arrangements) which contributed significantly to preserving stability and security in the South-east Asian region.
As members of the British Royal family, they are unique because their family members are also trained as military officers and involved in military operations around the world.
"In view of this, the Butterworth Air Base was chosen as one of the locations for the visit by His Royal Highness in Penang. There are many historical elements that he liked here," he told Bernama.
Prince Charles arrived at the RAMF base at 3.40 pm in a black limousine and was accompanied by the minister-in-attendance, Datuk Seri S.K. Devamany, who is a deputy minister in the Prime Minister's Department.
Upon arrival, Prince Charles was greeted by Air Support Commander Lieutenant-General Datuk Paduka Wan Normazlan Che Jaafar before he spent 30 minutes visiting the RMAF Hawk Aircraft, Royal Malaysian Navy Aircraft and Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) as well as having a photo session with the personnel.
The heir to the throne, was then taken to Headquarters Integrated Area Defence System (HQIADS) to meet HQIADS personnel and families before listening to a 10-minute briefing by Major Mark Wong on the FPDA at the Combined Joint Ops Centre (CJOC).
FPDA was formed in 1971 to cater for the external defence of Malaysia and Singapore, following the withdrawal of the British military forces.
Besides the two countries, other members are Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.
The RAMF Base in Butterworth is currently the headquarters of the FPDA.
Earlier, Prince Charles also visited the WorldFish centre, an international research organisation that harnesses fisheries and aquaculture to reduce hunger and poverty, located southwest of the Penang Island.
Upon arrival at about 2.10pm, the prince was greeted by the Director-General Designate of WorldFish Gareth Johnstone and Director General of Malaysia Fisheries department Datuk Munir Mohd Nawi.
The prince spent about 30 minutes to have a closed-door briefing with the officers from the WorldFish, Malaysia Fisheries department and the Penang state government.
Charles also managed to meet and greet a number of the WorldFish staff during his tour at the centre.
The visit of Prince Charles and Camilla to Malaysia is part of an 11-day tour of Their Royal Highnesses to Singapore, Malaysia and India from Oct 30 to Nov 9. — Bernama