How Carmen Edmonds found her meaning of Merdeka at sea

 In 1990, she became the first woman to serve as a training officer aboard KLD Tunas Samudera, turning a belief in service into a life on the waves.

Lt Commander Carmen Rosemary Edmonds at her desk at the Royal Malaysian Navy base in Lumut, Perak, where she served during a 20-year naval career. (Andrea Edmonds @ FMT Lifestyle)

KUALA LUMPUR:

“Kesetiaan kepada Raja dan Negara” – loyalty to king and country – was the belief that led Lt Commander Carmen Rosemary Edmonds to serve her country for two decades.

At a time when women in the Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) were largely assigned administrative roles, Edmonds wanted more: she wanted to serve at sea.

Born in Seremban in 1951, she joined the RMN Reserve in 1974 and was assigned to communications when she was just 23.

“When I joined, only 4% of the navy were women,” she recalled. As of December 2024, that figure was at 10.5%.

Still, the low number did not stop Edmonds from seeking wider opportunities. She eventually asked K Thanabalasingam, the first Malaysian to serve as RMN chief, why females could not take on the same roles as their male counterparts.

“I was very brave to ask him, actually. I asked, ‘Why can’t ladies serve on board?’” she recalled.

That question would take Edmonds from shore to the deck of KLD Tunas Samudera, where she became the first woman to serve as a training officer aboard the ship.

Long before her naval career, Edmonds represented Malaysia in netball and competed in hockey at state level. (Andrea Edmonds @ FMT Lifestyle)

As a schoolgirl, Edmonds was already representing Malaysia through sport, playing hockey at state level and netball for the national team. She was later nominated for the Anugerah Sukan Negara, as well as Sportswoman of the Year in 1979 for netball.

Service was also familiar to her from a young age. Her father, Andrew Rapson Edmonds, served with the 3rd Battalion, Federated Malay States Volunteer Force in Negeri Sembilan, for which he received the War Medal 1939-1945.

Her uncle served in the British Royal Air Force, while her mother’s youngest brother also joined the RMN. “That was the starting point when it came to my loyalty,” Edmonds said.

Hearing the Rukun Negara being declared on Aug 31, 1970, when she was 19, cemented that feeling, with one principle in particular standing out.

“‘Kesetiaan kepada Raja dan Negara’ made me feel that I needed to serve my country,” she added.

Andrew Rapson Edmonds served with the 3rd Battalion, Federated Malay States Volunteer Force in Negeri Sembilan, beginning a family tradition of service. (Andrea Edmonds @ FMT Lifestyle)

In 1980, Edmonds joined the navy as a training officer stationed at the base in Lumut, Perak, before being transferred to Fleet Operations Command.

Nine years later, she was selected for naval sail training in the UK in preparation for the acquisition of a tall ship. She travelled to Dundee, Scotland, where she picked up the skills that would later prove essential aboard KLD Tunas Samudera.

“In 1990, I went aboard KLD Tunas Samudera and served with the first crew as a training officer – and the only lady on board,” she shared.

Life at sea required Edmonds to be adaptable, often in ways her male counterparts never had to consider. “I had to stand on the deck, and because my uniform was a skirt, I was always concerned about the wind.”

Her solution was characteristically practical: “I put pebbles along the hem to weigh it down and keep it from flying up.”

KLD Tunas Samudera became a milestone in Edmonds’s career when she joined its first crew in 1990 as the only woman on board. (Stewart Edmonds pic)

She also had to prove that she could be just as self-reliant as the rest of the crew – something that was tested when the ship encountered a storm and everyone had to act quickly.

“A couple of guys were afraid to climb the ship’s mast, so I took it upon myself to encourage them,” she said.

Despite being the only woman on board, Edmonds remembers the crew as close-knit.

“We worked like brothers, not looking down and saying, ‘Oh, you can’t do the job.’ Some of them looked at me and said, ‘If she can do it, I can do it.'”

After retiring in 2001, Edmonds continued finding ways to serve. Now living in Kuala Lumpur, she remains active in her neighbourhood association, helping organise initiatives to improve the area where she lives.

Today, Edmonds continues to serve in a different way, working with her neighbourhood association to improve the community around her. (Andrea Edmonds @ FMT Lifestyle)

At 75, she still holds the principles of the Rukun Negara close. For her, Merdeka is not simply about independence but about the responsibility Malaysians have towards the country and one another.

“I think it’s very important for every individual to go back to this basic belief in God, and loyalty to king and country,” she said.

She also sees independence not as an end point, but as an ongoing responsibility to keep contributing.

“When I joined the navy, their motto was ‘Sedia Berkorban’ – ready to sacrifice. And now the motto for us veterans is ‘Kekal Berkorban’, so we continue to sacrifice.” - FMT