When your workplace is a naval outpost some 300km from the mainland, being a frontliner is a given, in all but name. The term "frontliners" became perhaps the most popular word since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Initially, it referred to the amazing healthcare workers, who gave their all in trying to manage the massive Covid-19 cases. As time went on, the term had greatly expanded to include others who played an equally important role in trying to manage the pandemic.
They include those from the Malaysian Armed Forces, the Royal Malaysian Police and other agencies for their unwavering efforts in helping the country to persevere through the pandemic.
This article attempts to highlight just one particular agency whose relentless efforts and sacrifice, more often than not, go unnoticed.
A picture in this article shows a minute piece of real estate which belongs to Malaysia. The sovereignty of this real estate is protected by a small band of people, namely from the Royal Malaysian Navy. They have done so for almost four decades and yet very much unknown to most Malaysians.
These "Navy People" are deployed hundreds of miles away from home, leaving their loved ones behind to fend for themselves, sometimes for up to two thirds of the year.
No daddy or mummy to take them to and from school, tend to them when they are sick, watch TV or play video games with them or provide comfort when they are distressed over something that happened to them at school.
Yes, the families left behind are literally on their own. This also applies to those who serve on board ships, the submariners, members of the Naval Special Forces and the like.
In some cases, the death of a beloved family member means that mourning can only begin several weeks later, upon returning home from their assignments. A sacrifice that most people cannot imagine nor empathise at the slightest bit.
Nonetheless, these "Navy People" continue to do it, regardless of the pain and hardship that they and their families left behind have to endure.
I have had the chance to spend a few wonderful hours with these frontliners, to be with them, to talk to them, to try to relieve some of their worries or so I thought, during Hari Raya.
I noticed that quite a few of them had not celebrated Hari Raya or other festivities with their families for three consecutive years.
To my surprise, as I watched their young and innocent faces, I saw no sadness nor regret. Instead, I saw a bunch of highly motivated young men and women who sacrificed everything they loved in order to preserve the interests of the nation.
I say kudos to these brave young men and women of the Royal Malaysian Navy. I dare say that these "Navy People" are not desperate to be called or treated as heroes or heroines.
But I know for sure that they deserve your moral support. Whether you consider them as frontliners or not, it really doesn't matter.
People of Malaysia, please support your very own selfless "Navy People". I owe it to them that every citizen of this country realise and are aware of their sacrifices after reading this article.
The writer is Chief of Navy