On 18 January 1935, the British Admiralty presented Singapore with an Acacia-class sloop, HMS Laburnum, to serve as the Reserve's Headquarters and drill ship.

HMS Laburnum was sunk in February 1942, prior to the capitulation of Singapore at the beginning of Second World War activities in the Pacific.

Throughout the Second World War, the Malay Navy served with the Allied Forces in the Indian and Pacific theatre of operations.

The Malay Navy was reactivated on 24 December 1948 at the outbreak of the Malayan Emergency, the communist-inspired insurgent war against the British colonial government.

[3] The main mission of the Malayan Naval Force (MNF) was coastal patrols to stop the communists receiving supplies from the sea.

The Royal Navy transferred the Loch-class frigate HMS Loch Insh to the RMN in 1964 and renamed KD (Kapal Di-Raja, "His Majesty's Ship") Hang Tuah.

Following the end of Indonesian confrontation in 1966, Tunku Abdul Rahman and his colleagues decided to Malaysianise the top posts in the navy and air force.

Tunku and his colleagues then decided that they would select two officers, one from the navy and one from the air force, and appoint them chiefs of their respective services.

They were fully aware of Rear Admiral Datuk K. Thanabalasingam's age —he was 31 years old and a bachelor- but decided to appoint him and take the risk.

Based on the Yarrow F2000 design, the two 2,300-ton frigates are armed with Exocet MM40 II SSM and the Sea Wolf VLS point defence SAM system with accommodation for one Westland Super Lynx helicopter.

[7] In January 2011, the navy foiled a hijacking attempt against the Malaysian-flagged chemical tanker MT Bunga Laurel carrying lubricating oil and ethylene dichloride.

According to an 11 February 2011 online breaking news update by CNN's Brad Lendon, the seven Somalis, including three boys under 15 years old, could face the death penalty if convicted on charges of firing on Malaysian armed forces- navy commandos- while attempting to hijack the ship.

[11][12] The Royal Malaysian Navy was also involved in the operation to secure the release of MT Orkim Harmony that was hijacked in 2015 by a group of Indonesian pirates.

[18] Kiram stated that their objective was to assert the unresolved territorial claim of the Philippines to the eastern part of Sabah (which is the former North Borneo).

The Royal Malaysian Navy enforced a naval blockade during and after the standoff to ensure that no more Sulu militants would be able to reach Sabah.

The RMN also provided a naval special warfare unit for joint operations with army, air force and police commandos to track down and neutralise any militants left after the standoff.

On 21 June 1980 a claim plaque was erected on the island and three years later eighteen PASKAL men went ashore in May 1983 to build the first encampment while braving the elements.

Thus by 1995, more buildings were added, including two air-conditioned accommodation blocks, an aircraft landing strip, two hangars, a radar station, an air traffic control tower, watchtowers and a jetty.

The rest of the stations were originally floating barge type habitat modules constructed on mainland Malaysia.

In peacetime, the unit is tasked with responding to maritime hijacking incidents as well as protecting Malaysia's numerous offshore oil and gas platforms.

Its wartime roles include seaborne infiltration, sabotaging of enemy naval assets and installations, and the defence of RMN vessels and bases.

In 1996, the RMN planned to acquire a total of 27 New Generation Patrol Vessels (NGPV) to full fill its future requirement.

However, due to management failure of the main contractor, PSC-Naval Dockyard Sdn Bhd (PSC-ND), progression was seriously delayed and led the programme into crisis.

Subsequently, good progression of the programme has regained interest in the Malaysian decision makers to order the second batch of six NGPVs.

[2] The first vessel, KD Tunku Abdul Rahman was launched on 24 October 2007 at the Naval Group dockyard, Cherbourg, France.

[31] In October 2012, the Malaysian Navy chief Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Jaafar said that the submarines were in good condition and operational after all the defects repaired by manufacturer.

In September 2020, it is confirmed that Malaysia has sign the contract to purchase three maritime operations helicopter for utility role.

[34][35] RMN has an outstanding requirement for a Multi Role Support Ship (MRSS) to replace KD Sri Inderapura.

For the second batch of littoral mission ship program, Malaysia had chooses Ada-class corvette made by Turkey company, Savunma Teknolojileri Muhendislik (STM).

The RMN took a drastic approach by launching the '15 to 5' Fleet Transformation Program to ensure that the organisation continues as one of the powers in the region.