We had no electricity, only a kerosene lamp, and we got our water from the well behind my grandfather's house.
My grandmother used to tell me stories to put me to bed. The funny thing was that she often fell asleep before me! In small villages like mine, we were also told ghost stories by the elders every now and then, which made us too scared to venture outside at night.
Father eventually moved the whole family to Kuala Lumpur. If not for the move, I would probably have taken over tapping the rubber trees and working the padi fields which belonged to my grandfather -- and my world would have been much smaller.
When I was young, Father and I used to stand outside the fence of the Butterworth Air Force Base, admiring the aircraft. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine that one day I would be flying those helicopters.
I left school just before the STPM exam. My father was quite upset initially when I disappeared from home and joined the armed forces without his knowledge.
I was not cut out for classroom life. I thought leaving school would free me from the clutches of studying.
How terribly wrong I was! Military training involved a lot more studying, including training to make decisions under pressure.
Skipping classes was not an option. Flight training two years later was not any easier either.
The seniors were there to give us a hard time and punish us for minor misconduct. Our progress was closely monitored by the instructors.
You grow a little bit faster in this kind of environment. I made it through after 14 months and my father was too proud for words to describe.
I flew the Bell 47, Alouette, Nuri and Agusta 109 for the Royal Malaysian Air Force. In the early 1980s, I was one of the few to have flown the Nuri into a secured firefight zone, after being given the green light to pick up a dead communist terrorist. He was winched up and sent to a military camp.
I would be lying if I said I wasn't scared. I was only 22 then. The bulletproof pilot seat gave me some comfort as we hovered above the jungle for what seemed liked an eternity. The bulky Nuri was one huge target if those terrorists had wanted to take a pot shot and bring it down!
In Sarawak, I was part of the Flying Doctor Service, carrying out mercy flights from longhouses, ferrying accident victims and patients with birth complications or serious illnesses that required attention in the bigger hospitals. A few of these patients died in my helicopter enroute to some of these hospitals, but I had to accept that some things were just beyond my control.
Only pilots who have been there know how it feels flying in those vast mountainous regions of Bario, Bakelalan, Belaga and Gunung Murut. Unpredictable weather, strong winds and being all alone in a small single-engine helicopter in the middle of nowhere makes the mind conjure up weird things.
Being hit by a strong gust of wind every now and then really gets the heart pumping a lot faster. Looking at the thick virgin jungle below me, having to divert from the planned route due to a medical evacuation request or stormy weather, I often wondered how difficult it would be for anybody to find me should I crash into those tall trees and thick foliage.
I also flew a few humanitarian missions after the tsunami in Aceh.
Since moving back to peninsular Malaysia, I have been doing corporate flying, which is a very different environment altogether. I have since flown other types of helicopters -- the Dauphin AS 365 N (the BMW of helicopters), Bell 407, EC 155, AS 350 Ecureuil and EC 120.
I have had the opportunity to fly VVIPs, including royalty such as Spain's Queen Sofia, famous celebrities and other distinguished citizens. When I was given the opportunity to have a few words with Queen Sofia, I must admit I was a bit overwhelmed.
Coming from such a humble background, if not for a twist of fate, I would not have had the opportunity to fly an aircraft, let alone carry out mercy flights and fly these distinguished individuals.
I am very happy that I now have another pilot in the house. Zur Hassan Adreeka, the oldest of my four children, recently got his commercial pilot's licence -- a few months after he turned 18. He got his pilot's wings in the United States and will be leaving again soon for advanced flight training. I can see my retirement plan starting to take shape.
He shares my DNA but obviously comes from another planet. He achieved 8As in his Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia exam and scored an A1 for Additional Mathematics.
I showed him my old school report cards and he was quite amazed at my performance, or lack of it!
I told him that given a chance, people can change for the better due to exposure, challenges, self-improvement and the drive to excel. We cannot judge a person's ability by something that happened years ago.
Glancing at the world around me, the picture is not very comforting. New conflicts keep occurring every so often. All these conflicts seem so far away from our shores.
We Malaysians are very lucky. I am a staunch believer in harmonious existence, regardless of race, colour and religion.
My hopes and prayers for this Aug 31 are that we show more tolerance and understanding towards each other's faith and beliefs. I hope there will be no more threats from within, especially from religious extremists who give religion a bad name.
I am very sure that peace and harmony will continue and hopefully my children will inherit this peaceful and beautiful country. We have already put up our two Malaysian flags in front of our house.
Happy 49th birthday to me and happy 51st birthday to you, my lovely Malaysia.
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