“I had a friend who was also my father and my hero.
My father, First Admiral Ramli Samjis was born in 1944 right after the Japanese Occupation, to a Javanese Immigrant, Grandpa Samjis. Atuk Samjis as we called him, settled in Bentong, Pahang and made an honest living selling satay.
Atuk Samjis would have had a brighter future as he was shortlisted to study at university with a state fund. However, a son to a Javanese man, he was considered not a Bumiputra nor a local and was rejected to pursue the offer. Being the only son of the satay-seller, Atuk Samjis decided to be a hospital clerk and became a family man.
When Daddy was 10 years old, he was selected to study at the well-known Malay College Kuala Kangsar representing the state of Pahang on a scholarship. Atuk Samjis didn’t want Daddy to suffer the same fate as him since he had academic tremendous potential and allowed his son to pursue the offer.
At the school, Daddy befriended people coming from all walks of life from all throughout Malaysia. In 1962, when Daddy was 17 years old, Atuk Samjis passed away due to a high fever, leaving grandma and Daddy’s sister (aunty) without a breadwinner, while Daddy had a scholarship that would last him until the completion of his degree. But he didn’t have the heart to allow his mother and young sister to live with the bare minimum, without help.
Daddy decided it would be best to drop out of school, before completing form 6. He started looking for a job through the newspaper and came across an ad from the Royal British Navy about recruiting cadet officers for their Far Eastern Fleet to represent Malaya.
The plan was for the British to gradually give the Malayan Navy more autonomy and eventually the establishment of the Royal Malaysian Navy. Daddy applied and was selected for an interview. Having passed the physical test and the interview, Daddy only had a week to leave for the UK, to study at the Royal Britannia Naval College.
Daddy’s former classmates gave him a fitting send-off at the train station. Daddy never forgot this farewell. Apart from naval warfare, Daddy learned to become a gentleman and a truly stoic person.
At the age of 20, Daddy returned to Malaya in 1964, after two years in the UK, due to the Malayan confrontation. He was sent to the jungles of Kalimantan to defend front invading Sukarno forces.
Daddy found himself a beautiful Minangkabau wife. At the age of 39, Daddy became a First Admiral and the Chief of the Woodlands Navy base. He never stopped. Later reaching the highest rank, he became the Chief of Logistics for the Malaysian Armed Forces, which encompassed the Air Force, the Army, and the Navy.
Daddy has four sons, including me, and lived until he was 75. During his peaceful death, he was surrounded by family members, and friends he gained during his schooling days, some 50 years prior. Daddy lived his Navy life with contentment and without regrets.
However, Daddy once asked me if he would ever live long enough to see Liverpool FC win the league again. First Admiral Ramli Samjis, my hero, my friend, my father, I miss you a lot. “
