Skydivers fly Jalur Gemilang to express love for country

PUTRAJAYA: Malaysians come up with various ways to show their love and patriotism to the country in conjunction with the National Day celebration on Aug 31.

A group of seven skydivers from Malaysia BASEjumper (Building, Antenna, Span and Earth) did not want to miss the opportunity to display their patriotism by flying the Jalur Gemilang (national flag) at the base jump show at the Women, Family and Community Development (KPWKM) ministry building in Precinct 4 here.

A skydiver, Aziz Ahmad, said he participated in the Fly Jalur Gemilang event not only to celebrate the National Day but also to commemorate the freedom fighters.

“Their struggle has allowed us to celebrate Independence Day and sing Negaraku, and if it was not for them, we might be still singing the Union Jack, ‘God Save the Queen’ song,” the former pilot of the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) told reporters after his jump today.

Sharing his experiences, the 63-year-old daredevil said he had done more than 3,000 skydiving stunts when serving with RMAF before switching to ‘base jump’ over 20 years ago. It has involved more than 400 jumps.

According to Aziz, the skydiving activities were halted for a while after his aircraft crashed, causing him to suffer serious injuries and was treated for three months in an intensive care unit (ICU).

“While doing base jump at Kuala Lumpur Tower, I accidentally hit a pole which caused my left femur bone (thighbone) to fracture and it was replaced with titanium in 2004,” he said, adding that he never felt discouraged to dive.

Meanwhile, another skydiver Adi Khirman Marji said three Jalur Gemilang will be flown for each diving session held today and tomorrow from 8 am to 11 am, and 4.45 pm to 7 pm.

“Actually, we are practising for the launch of the KPWKM Family Day in November, but we are taking the opportunity to show our love for Malaysia by flying the national flag,” he said. — Bernama Malaysia BASEjumper skydivers display their patriotism by flying the Jalur Gemilang at the base jump show at the Women, Family and Community Development (KPWKM) ministry building in Precinct 4 in Putrajaya. — Bernama photo