IPOH: The owner of the famous Nasi Ganja initially thought the person who ordered 36 food packets was joking when told that the food would be picked up by helicopter.
The owner, Mohd Nihmathullah, 57, said he received the order at 3pm on Thursday and was informed by the customer that the food would be picked up between 9.45am and 10am the next day by a helicopter.
At first, he laughed off when he received the order and warned the caller not to fool around, but the person insisted he was serious.
"Later on he asked me to wait at Ipoh Padang by 10am the next day, so I was thinking that he might arrive in a car.
"I was worried as the orders were made without any initial payment. But 36 packets are not that much. I can still sell it off if the customer didn't come to pick it up.
"My mind was 50-50 at that time until I arrived at the location. I thought of leaving the place in 10 minutes if he did not show up," he said when contacted today.
What Mohd Nihmathullah initially thought was a joke turned out to be a reality.
He together with his son-in-law remained nonchalant, as if though it was no big deal that the food from their famed outlet was being picked up by a helicopter.
"I was not thinking about anything else, to know who was the one in the helicopter or otherwise, as it was not important for me. I had fulfiled my responsibility to complete my customer's order," he added.
Police have since recorded his statement on the incident.
"Nothing to be happy about (incident) as this puts us in trouble constantly being asked by everyone including newsmen and others about the person who ordered the food by helicopter.
"On Thursday, he (the customer) only said will pick it up in a helicopter, but I could have delivered it to Sultan Azlan Shah Airport myself as it is still in Ipoh territory.
"Yes, our food orders increased but usually after a day or two following such 'incident' the orders will return to normal," he said.
It was reported that a helicopter landed at Ipoh Padang here just to pick up the order from a customer from Kuala Lumpur.
Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM) has also launched an investigation over a Bell 505 helicopter, operated by Systematic Aviation Services which landed at the field to pick up 36 packets of 'Nasi Ganja'.
Police were also probing whether the incident had broken any standard operating procedures (SOP) of the Movement Control Order (MCO).