LANGKAWI, May 26 — Although the air segment of the Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace Exhibition 2023 (LIMA ’23) is the main drawcard, the maritime segment has also managed to attract visitors in droves.
Visitors began streaming in at 10 am for the exhibition of naval defence assets from home and abroad at Resort World Langkawi (RWL) here.
A survey by Bernama found that despite the uncertain weather with the occasional drizzle, local and foreign tourists still took the rare opportunity to take pictures against the backdrop of warships docked at the pier near RWL.
They were also willing to wait in long queues for their turn to board the three warships on display today, namely KD Lekiu from the Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN), CNS Zhanjiang (China) and PNS Shahjahan (Pakistan) to tour the interiors.
“I was very excited to be able to see these warships in real life, so much so I could even feel how strong and brave our soldiers are in steering the country’s warships,” said a visitor, Putera Syahzulmi Suhaimi.
The 26-year-old said that LIMA had given him the opportunity to increase his knowledge about the country’s maritime defence assets.
Meanwhile, Nurul Ain Husna Ahmad, 26, who has never missed an opportunity to attend LIMA since 2015, said she was mesmerised by the warships on display every time the exhibition was held.
“I’m excited because there are some ships that I boarded for the first time in LIMA ‘23, like this ship from China. It is great to be able to get the chance to see the interior, complete with their sophisticated equipment,” said the native of Kedah.
The maritime segment at the 16th edition of LIMA showcases 20 ships belonging to the RMN, six vessels from other government agencies and 14 from foreign countries such as Brunei, Japan, the United States, South Korea, Italy, China, Thailand, Singapore, Vietnam and Indonesia.
The exhibition which began on Tuesday (May 23) is open to the public free of charge until tomorrow (May 27).
The segment also presents various interesting programmes such as rescue demonstrations from security agencies such as the RMN, Royal Malaysia Police, Malaysian Fire and Rescue Department, Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency and Royal Malaysian Customs Department.
