THE UNTOLD STORY : KD RAJA JAROM (A1502)

"The Untold History and Tragedy of KD Raja Jarom (A1502)"

Every ship in the Royal Malaysian Navy has a story. But few ships carry a story that spans three wars, two oceans, two navies, and a 200-year-old curse. 

This is the untold story of KD Raja Jarom (A1502)—a World War II Landing Ship Tank (LST) that became the backbone of Malaysia's early offshore development and a vessel forever linked to the mystery of the 3 ancient cannons of Pulau Aur. 

Long before she flew the "Jalur Gemilang," she was USS LST-1123, USS Sedgewick County, laid down on 1 November 1944 at Seneca, Illinois, by Chicago Bridge & Iron Co. and commissioned on 19 February 1945; she was built for the final push of World War II. She would go on to earn 6 Battle Stars in the Korean War and another 6 in the Vietnam War—12 battle stars in total.

On 15 March 1975, she was struck from the US Naval Register and transferred to Malaysia. After a long voyage from San Francisco Bay in May 1977, she was officially commissioned into the Royal Malaysian Navy as KD Raja Jarom (A1502) on 19 February 1977. Her first commanding officer was Lt. Col. (Laut) Abd Wahid Anang.

KD RAJA JAROM (1981/82)

After 6 months at KD Ganas, I was transferred to KD Raja Jarom, which was then at Malaysian Shipyard Engineering, Pasir Gudang, Johor. The Commanding Officer of KD Raja Jarom at that time was Commander Zainal Dali, the fiercest CO I have ever served. When the CO was on the bridge, everyone would be quiet and still.. not daring to speak. While the Executive Officer was Lt Cdr Zainal Talib.

After a major refit at Malaysian Shipyard Engineering (MSE), she was recommissioning on 18 December 1981. 

• Reference: Zulheimy Maamor: KD RAJA JAROM 1982

The Workhose of the Fleet (1981–1982)

In 1981-82, KD Raja Jarom was one of the most active ships in the fleet. As an LST she was RMN's heavy lifter. 

1. Borneo Lifeline—Transported military equipment for the Malaysian Army and the Traffic Police to Sabah and Sarawak.
2. International Exercises: Transported a New Zealand Infantry troop participating in military training within Malaysia.
3. The Birth of the Swallow Reef: Her most historic contribution. In 1982, KD Raja Jarom was the logistic backbone for the development of Terumbu Layang-Layang (Swallow Reef). She delivered the heavy construction equipment and building materials that allowed the reef to be reclaimed into a stable island—now one of Malaysia's most vital strategic outposts in the South China Sea. 

Reference: Down Memory Lane: KD Raja Jarom & Swallow Reef (1982). 

ANCIENT ARTIFACTS OF PULAU AUR

In June 1982, under a direct tasking from Istana Johor, KD Raja Jarom was ordered to Pulau Aur, an island about 35 nautical miles off Mersing, to retrieve ancient artifacts.

That last mission is where history turns into mystery.

The Myth of the Three Ancient Cannons (Pulau Aur)

On Pulau Aur, there were cannons that did not belong. 

First recorded in 1849 by British Surveyor J.T. Thompson, there were four cannons stamped with the year F1782. They were not Malay cannons. Experts believe they were Portuguese or Dutch bronze guns, possibly from an 18th-century shipwreck. By the 1980s, only three remained visible above the sand.

The crew of KD Raja Jarom was tasked to bring them to Johor. The two cannons were successfully retrieved on the first trip.

A month later, after returning from duties in East Malaysia, the ship was once again given the task of bringing the third cannon to Johor. 

It was then that the villagers of Pulau Aur gave a warning. They said that since the first two cannons were taken, cries had been heard at night from the beach where they once lay. They called them Meriam Tiga Beradik—the Three Sibling Cannons. To separate them, they said, would anger the guardians and invite disaster upon the ship that broke them apart.

However, by order of the Johor Palace, the assigned crew had no other choice but to continue to bring the third cannon to Johor.

What the residents of Kampung Pulau Aur said turned out to be true on 19 December 1982 at 10:10 PM, when KD Raja Jarom was involved in a collision with a Japanese tanker, Syoru Maru, at Buffalo Rock in the Singapore Strait. 

The incident claimed the lives of three crew members: 

1. 802372 BM Abdul Rahman Bin Kunji Maidin
2. 805992 BM Ramlie bin Yaakub 
3. 805221 BM Abd Rahman bin Hamid 

The mystery surrounding KD Raja Jarom (KDRJ) is that the three ancient cannons (3M) taken from Pulau Aur seemingly claimed the lives of three crew members whose names all started with the letter R (3R)...

Exactly 200 years after the cannons were forged (1782–1982), KD Raja Jarom met with a severe accident that veterans and locals darkly connected back to the island's folklore.

The Malacca Straits Collision (1984)

Less than two years later, in the Straits of Malacca, history almost repeated itself. KD Raja Jarom was involved in a second collision—once again with a Japanese tanker. This time there were no fatalities, but exactly three crew members were injured.

My Concluding Note:

"Ultimately, everything that transpires is by the will of Allah S.W.T., and there is wisdom behind every event. Whatever mysteries surrounded KD Raja Jarom may simply be a series of strange coincidences—left to the interpretation of the individual, provided it does not lead away from religious faith."

The sea demands respect, both technical and spiritual. An old LST, built for war in 1944, sailing in 1982 with cannon from 1782 - perhaps it was a convergence of time, of congested straits and heavy tankers, of tired crews and old radar. Perhaps it something else. 

KD Raja Jarom survived. Records show she continued service as a stationary tender to small craft as late as 1999. She has since been scrapped, but her name lives on in the memories of her crew. 

The cannons from Pulau Aur? 

They are now believed to be under the custody of the Johor state. The fourth cannon, the one Thompson saw in 1849, remains lost — perhaps still buried under the sand of Pulau Aur, waiting.

Sources & References for Footnotes:

1. Hj Zulheimy Maamor: 1982 - Pelanggaran KD Raja Jarom dan Misteri Meriam Purba Pulau Aur. 
2. US Navy History & Heritage Command — LST-1123 History
3. Navsource.org—USS Sedgwick County (LST-1123) transfer to Malaysia 7 Oct 1976
4. TLDM — MSE Pasir Gudang Refit Record — 18 Dec 1981

Hj Zulheimy Maamor

11 September 2026: 6.08 a.m