KUALA LUMPUR: A former Malaysia Airlines (MAS) chief pilot who became prominent after criticising the airline’s management over the disappearance of flight MH370 and the downing of flight MH17 has another passion that few, possibly only those closest to him, know of.

With more than 30 years of flying experience under his belt, including having flown former United States president Bill Clinton in 2005, Datuk Captain Nik Ahmad Huzlan Nik Hussain now prefers to see the world not from the air, but on a motorcycle.

The 58-year-old said that travelling by land has given him a better sense of being near people.

“I made a choice to travel on two tyres as it brings me closer to other people,” he told The Malaysian Insider.

He has ridden his motorcycle across different parts of the world including the United States, Southeast Asia, Europe and even the Himalayas.

Nik Ahmad Huzlan said he had always been warmly greeted by people in the areas he had gone to on his motorcycle.

“To me, people are more friendly when you go to their villages on a bike rather than a car. When they are friendly, their hearts are open and we can then talk and exchange opinions,” he said.

Although his career as a pilot has taken him all over the world, Nik Ahmad Huzlan said there is a huge difference in the satisfaction he gets when travelling on his motorcycle.

“When I fly a plane, I am working and my focus is to bring the plane home.

“It is not for travelling, so my opportunities to travel while working were not as much as I had hoped.”

Nik Ahmad Huzlan was raised in Kelantan until the age of nine when his parents uprooted the family from the east coast state and moved them to Kuala Lumpur in search of a better life.

“My parents knew that if they remained in Kelantan, it would be more difficult to be successful,” he said.

After completing his secondary education at Victoria Institution, Nik Ahmad Huzlan enrolled at the Royal Selangor Flying School in 1975.

“That year, I came across an advertisement seeking to recruit pilots. More than 3,000 candidates had gone for the interview for only 12 available places. I was one of those chosen,” he said.

His career with the national carrier began in 1979, and he has flown the F27, Boeing 7373 and 777 passenger planes.

Nik Ahmad Huzlan recently caused a stir after he made a strong-worded posting in his blog in which he called on the MAS management to step down in order to save the airline following the disappearance of MH370 and the downing of MH17.

“Leave please. Do the honourable thing. You’ve already made your bundle. Your future is assured. Your wealth is certain. Please leave. Please do not be a stumbling block to the survival of MAS. Please allow this company to live again. Just GO,” he had said.

“Under this management, MH is anything but Malaysian Hospitality. MH = Musnah Harapan. MH = Memang Hancur. MH = Mati Habis,” he wrote.

Nik Ahmad Huzlan said his career as a pilot taught him to be an optimist and had at the same time humbled him.

“As a pilot, it is important to be an optimist. If you think about plane crashes, then [there is] no point in being a pilot.

“Wherever we go, the most valuable possession or currency is our culture and not money.

“When we travel, we have to remember that culture is the best possession that we bring in our pockets, in our wallets, in our hearts and souls.” — The Malaysian Insider (See full story in www.themalaysianinsider.com)


This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on September 17, 2014.