Kamal continues father’s legacy as RMAF pilot

LABUAN: The apple never falls far from the tree. That pretty much sums up Major Kamal Jufri Kamarulzaman who found himself continuing his father’s legacy as a Royal Malaysian Air Force ( RMAF) pilot at the Labuan air base.

Kamal Jufri, 33, who has been serving in the RMAF for 14 years, is attached to the 18th Squadron as a weapon sensor officer for F-18 Hornet aircraft.

“I got interested to join the military upon looking at my father who has always appeared smart and handsome in his uniform whenever he goes to work.

“In addition, my passion came after seeing my father often flying fighter jets. From then on, I was determined to become an air force pilot,” he told Bernama when met at the recent ‘Day with the Media’ held in conjunction with the 59th RMAF Day themed, ‘Air Power Pillar of Nation’s Sovereignty’, here.

Kamal Jufri said his father, Maj Gen Datuk Kamarulzaman Mohd Othman had never pushed him to join the air force.

“My father has never forced me to join the RMAF. In fact, the decision to join the country’s security forces came from me,” he said.

Asked whether he had the desire to fly a fighter jet together with his father, Kamal Jufri said this idea was not allowed as it was the RMAF’s policy not to and for safety reason.

Kamarulzaman, meanwhile, is proud to have his son in the air force and piloting a fighter jet.

“Alhamdulillah ( praise be to Allah), he (Kamal Jufri) managed to achieved what he had been dreaming of when he was young and he is very committed to his job.

“I had trained him to be disciplined since he was young. Discipline is indeed vital in the military as we have a huge responsibility to the country,” he said, adding that he had piloted the A4- Skyhawk and MiG-29 among the fighter jets for 12 years in his 37 years of service in the air force. — Bernama