For Malaysia Villagers, a Proud Flight
International Herald Tribune
June 29, 1998
Thomas Fuller

Flight MH5407 took a large detour after taking off, heading north instead of south, but none of the passengers on board the inaugural flight to Malaysia's new $3 billion airport seemed to notice.

Only after a sharp left turn did the cabin come alive with curiosity — and the purpose of the detour was made clear. As the wings dipped, the world's tallest buildings, the Petronas Towers, came into view. The plane flew low over the bright lights of modern Kuala Lumpur and the passengers cheered.

"This is very, very meaningful," said Kuan Huan Seng, a 37-year-old school teacher, solemnly. "I am very proud."

It is not fashionable these days in crisis-hit Southeast Asia to embrace grandiose construction projects, but the passengers of Flight MH5407 on Saturday night allowed themselves a few hours of self-congratulation.

On board the short flight from Malaysia's old airport to the brand-new Kuala Lumpur International Airport — which will begin full operations Tuesday — were 150 men, women and children who live in the small villages surrounding the new structure, people who had endured four years of construction in the name of building the largest airport in Southeast Asia in terms of acreage.

From Denver to Narita, the construction of airports around the world has often been greeted by protests from those living in surrounding areas. But for the villagers aboard this flight the inauguration of a brand-new, state-of-the-art airport symbolized the radical changes in their lives — from the absolute poverty of their childhoods to the affluence, despite the current economic crisis, of modern Malaysia.

"You must understand," said the captain of the flight, Mohamad Seth, who grew up in a small town near the site of the new airport and now flies Boeing 777s for a living. "All these years the people didn't see much expansion in the country. Now we fly 777s, we build the tallest towers and have a great airport like this. We used to have doubts. Now we know we are capable."

Despite the fact the airport was quite literally built in their backyards — and that the land that the government bought is now worth 10 times as much as they were paid for it — the villagers' anger seemed all but forgotten.

"We have to compete with our neighboring countries," said Mr. Kuan, the school teacher. "So, if our infrastructure is bad, foreign investors might not come."

The government took 10 acres away from Tsen Yoon Fatt, 56, who had worked two jobs for most of his life and had bought the land to plant rubber trees.

But Mr. Tsen was not bitter. He spoke about plans to start a seafood restaurant on his remaining land.

Like others on the flight, he said he still strongly supported Malaysia's government, specifically Mahathir bin Mohamad, the prime minister, who spearheaded the airport project.

The economic crisis?

"We grew too fast," he said. "Everybody will suffer a bit, and in two to three years things will be back to normal. The economic slowdown is not the fault of the government. It's the fault of the big companies — they invested too fast."

Mr. Tsen has come too far to be overly concerned with the current economic turmoil. He grew up in a wooden shack without electricity in a village where the only work was tapping rubber.

For years the town was surrounded by Communist guerrillas , hiding in the jungles. "If you didn't help them, they would shoot you," he said.

Today, Mr. Tsen has two cars, lives in a brick, two-story house and has given his three sons the good education that he never had. He taught himself English by reading Reader's Digest and he shrugs off what he reads about the crisis in East Asia.

"We're still strong," said the stocky Mr. Tsen of his country. "We have stable politics, we have a lot of rubber, and a lot of palm oil."

Flight MH5407 prepared its scripted descent to the new airport's 4-kilometer-long (2.5-mile-long) runway. Awaiting below were Mr. Mahathir, the country's king, and a few thousand dignitaries.

"As far as I can recall," Mr. Mahathir told the waiting crowd, "there has not been an airport of this size which was built in such a short period at such small cost."

He compared the new airport with the $20 billion Chek Lap Kok airport in Hong Kong, the world's second-most-expensive, and scheduled to start operations July 6. Kuala Lumpur's airport, Mr. Mahathir said, was "extremely cheap" by comparison.

Inside the plane, the villagers, many of whom had never flown before, admired the constellation of lights on the runway, terminal building and control tower.

The plane touched down and the cabin erupted in cheers and applause.

"Malaysia boleh!" yelled a passenger. "Malaysia can do it!"

Copyright © 2006 the International Herald Tribune