| Hakim Hayat |
THE former Chief of Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) Major General Mervyn Tan yesterday made several farewell visits to top defence officials in Brunei Darussalam, following his retirement last month.
At the Ministry of Defence (MinDef) in Bolkiah Garrison, Major General Mervyn Tan met with Minister of Defence II Pehin Datu Lailaraja Major General (Rtd) Dato Paduka Seri Haji Awang Halbi bin Haji Mohd Yussof.
During the call, Minister of Defence II expressed his satisfaction on the robust and active defence relations between Brunei Darussalam and the Republic of Singapore that was manifested through regular exchange of visits, dialogues, meetings, bilateral exercises, trainings, cross-attendance courses, professional exchanges, exhibitions and other programmes.
Meanwhile, in a separate call with the Acting Commander of the Royal Brunei Armed Forces (RBAF) First Admiral Pengiran Dato Seri Pahlawan Norazmi bin Pengiran Haji Muhammad, he affirmed to strengthen bilateral relations between Brunei Darussalam and the Republic of Singapore and both sides also expressed their satisfaction on the long-standing relationship and looked forward to enhance the defence cooperation in the future.
Earlier at the Royal Brunei Air Force (RBAirF) Headquarters in Kampong Rimba, Major General Mervyn Tan received the general salute and inspected the guard of honour mounted by RBAirF personnel led by Captain (U) Mohamad Wafiy bin Haji Mohd Salleh. He later made a farewell call to the Commander of the RBAirF Brigadier General (U) Dato Seri Pahlawan Haji Hamzah bin Haji Sahat.
Major General Mervyn Tan conducted his introductory visit to Brunei Darussalam on October 11, 2016 where he was presented with the RBAirF Honorary Pilot Wing in recognition of his outstanding service, valuable efforts and contributions in strengthening ties between the air forces of both countries.
He has been replaced by Brigadier General Kelvin Khong as the new Chief of Air Force of the Republic of Singapore Air Force on March 22.
Prior to holding the Chief of Air Force post, Major General Mervyn Tan was the Director of Intelligence and Chief of C4I for the Singapore Armed Forces’ (SAF) Military Intelligence Organisation. He graduated from the SAF Officer Cadet School in 1991 and has held both senior command and staff appointments in the SAF.
Some of the significant achievements of the RSAF under his leadership include the conduct of air defence operations during the DPRK-USA Singapore Summit as well as the alleged bomb threat aboard the Scoot flight TR634, the participation in the Defeat-IS coalition efforts in the Middle East and the contributions to regional and international Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief missions.