Four women make history as PGU's first female pilots

IPOH - Four police officers with the rank of Inspector created history when they became the first female pilots of the Royal Malaysia Police Air Operation Force (PGU) since its inception on Feb 1, 1979.

They are Inspector Wan Aulia Hami Fariheen Wan Azulkefeli, 31, Inspector Yeoh Yee Chee, 31, Inspector Siti Nabila Abdullah, 33, and Inspector Nur Hidayah Mohd Aisa, 33.

Deputy Inspector-General of Police Datuk Seri Ayob Khan Mydin Pitchay said they were among 12 police officers who were awarded Private Pilot Licence (PPL) at the 44th Anniversary of PGU at the Police Air Wing Training Base (PLPGU) here, today.

"This is the first time in the history that PGU has recruited female officers to be trained. These officers and personnel are qualified to perform flight operations with exisiting flight crew,” he said at a press conference here today.

Ayob Khan said PGU’s role is divided into six main areas namely public safety and order, crime prevention, operational support as well as mercy, tactical and training flights.

PGU commander DCP Datuk Noor Sham Md Jani said the four female police officers were selected to participate in the PPL course after strict screening of 36 participants.

"This is our pioneer team. Insya Allah, we will have six more women pilots for helicopter next month. For the first time in the history, the PGU Training Centre (PLPGU) is training six female police officers with the rank of Inspector,” he said.

He said that the police encouraged capable and qualified female police officers to join PGU to strengthen the effectiveness of its operations.

Meanwhile, Nur Hidayah who was awarded the Best Flight Trainee said all the trainees spent about one and a half years training which ended in July this year.

"The challenge is that we are the first female pilots, so we have to prove our skills and abilities as much as men in terms of science and aviation," said the fourth of seven siblings.

The Ipoh-born said the female participants must must meet the criteria set by the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM). They include passing bahasa Melayu, English and Mathematics in Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) with fluency in spoken and written English as well as being at least 163 centimetres tall.

Siti Nabila said that one of the things that motivated her to take the course was to challenge herself to do something new.

For Yeoh, on the other hand, it is a source of inspiration to the community and PDRM by proving that women can also be in aviation as women are rarely represented in this field.

"My father is a businessman, in the Chinese mindset, it is difficult to get into the civil service, so I took it as a challenge.

"I was interested and applied by going through several stages which gave me a sense of achievement to become a police officer so that I can help the community," she said. - BERNAMA