The Royal Malaysian Navy can trace its roots to the formation of the Straits Settlement Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve (SSRNVR) in Singapore on 27 April 1934 by the British colonial government in Singapore. The SSRNVR was formed to assist the Royal Navy in the defence of Singapore, upon which the defence of the Malay Peninsula was based. Also behind its formation were political developments in Asia, particularly the rise of a Japan that was increasingly assertive in Asia. In 1938, the SSRNVR was expanded with a branch in Penang. On 18 January 1935, the British Admiralty presented Singapore with an , , to serve as the Reserve's Headquarters and drill ship. It was berthed at the Telok Ayer Basin. HMS "Laburnum" was sunk in February 1942, prior to the capitulation of Singapore at the beginning of Second World War activities in the Pacific.