KLUANG, Nov 13 — The 22nd edition in the series of bilateral exercises between armed forces from Singapore (SAF) and Malaysia (MAF), demonstrated "unity in spirit”, said the Chief of Staff-General Staff of the Singapore Army, Brigadier-General (BG) Desmond Tan Kok Ming at the closing ceremony of Exercise Semangat Bersatu today.

According to Singapore’s Ministry of Defence (Mindef), this year’s exercise was a 10-day affair conducted in Kluang, and involved around 980 personnel from both the 1st Battalion, Singapore Infantry Regiment, and the 5th Royal Malay Regiment. The exercise culminated in a combined battalion field exercise.

In his closing speech, BG Tan said: "Through our defence relations, we find greater areas of convergence between our two countries and therein forge the basis for a lasting bond... I am heartened to know that our soldiers took the opportunity to interact, to build relationships and achieve a deeper understanding of each other during the last two weeks.”

He added: "Our soldiers have truly demonstrated our armies’ "unity in spirit”, or semangat bersatu.”

Also present at the ceremony was the Deputy Chief of Army of the Malaysian Armed Forces, Lieutenant-General Panglima Hj Ahmad Hasbullah bin Hj Mohd Nawawi.

First conducted in 1989, Exercise Semangat Bersatu serves as an important and valuable platform for professional exchanges and personnel-to-personnel interactions between the SAF and the MAF, Mindef said. — TODAY