Wife of former air force officer reminisces on the good old days
My late husband Cecil Eliathamby was a warrant officer with the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) when he retired, and he served the RMAF for nearly 30 years.
He was a very dedicated man to his duty and the nation and was never known to be late for work throughout his years of service in the air force.
Many officers still remember him as a very strict and disciplined "no-nonsense" officer concerning work.
The men under him "feared" him because of his personal discipline and as he reports very early to work, he expected all the men under his charge to do the same...
My late husband Cecil Eliathamby was a warrant officer with the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) when he retired, and he had served the RMAF for nearly 30 years.
He was a very dedicated man to his duty and the nation and was never known to be late for work throughout his years of service in the air force.
Many officers still remember him as a very strict and disciplined "no-nonsense" officer concerning work.
The men under him "feared" him because of his personal discipline and as he reports very early to work, he expected all the men under his charge to do the same.
He will check on their uniforms, badges and shoes making sure they are all prim and proper.
As his wife, I could see he was well-loved by his superiors, especially Colonel Abbas, who took him along to set up most of the air bases in old Malaya, and as a family we got posted more than 13 times to different bastions in the country till he retired in 1983.
In those days most of the men took their job seriously and were very dedicated, offering their best service for the nation. My husband also saw action during the Indonesian Confrontation.
He was awarded a medal but after his passing I can't remember where it is and the reason he was given the award.
Another thing to remember is, during his time in service rarely did we hear of any plane or helicopter crashes. But after his retirement, every now and then the RMAF has experienced several air force crash incidents.
Perhaps personal attitude and work culture among personnel has changed since those days. In those days too, there was so much camaraderie among the different races in the barracks.
The evenings saw families coming together to play in the common playing field.
Gone are those days when there were parties in the bases and everyone shared in the merry-making.
Politics was left to the politicians and we rarely felt any kind of division in this area.
The then Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman ruled the nation fairly and justly and was loved by everyone.
SHIRLEY is the wife of a former RMAF officer.
