Malaysia's first ever submarine arrives to acclaim

PORT KLANG, Malaysia (AFP) - – Malaysia's first ever submarine was delivered Thursday to colourful fanfare and a royal visitor, in an acquisition that the government said "completes" the country's navy.

The European-made Scorpene submarine is the first of two commissioned from French contractor DCNS and Spain's Navantia for a combined total of 3.4 billion ringgit (961 million dollars).

The second submarine is scheduled for delivery in late 2009.

"With the arrival of the first submarine, our navy is now complete as it has an air component, a sea component and now a submarine component," defence minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi told reporters.

The KD Tunku Abdul RahmanAbdul Rahman, named after the nation's first prime minister, sailed into a grand reception at the navy's deepwater Pulau Indah base in Port Klang, an hour's drive from the capital Kuala Lumpur.

A naval band struck up martial tunes as the jet-black vessel, decorated with bunting and with its captain Zulhelmy Ithnain in the viewing tower, docked at the pier, which was packed with Malaysian and foreign naval dignitaries.

Malaysian King Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin was given a tour of the submarine, which set sail 54 days ago from the French port of Toulon, where the vessel was built.

Naval officials said the submarine would be based in Sabah state, on Borneo island, where it will undergo fine-tuning before it is deployed in search and rescue and military exercises.

The two submarines have long attracted controversy since the deal was signed in 2002.

Malaysia's opposition claims that a 540-million-ringgit commission was paid to a close associate of now-Premier Najib Razak in brokering the deal.

The prime minister, who also attended Thursday's ceremony, has denied there was any corruption in the deal, which was made when he was defence minister.