Rumours were circulating amongst coworkers that retrenchments would happen at the start of November. To survive, he and his wife had to break open the savings they’d gathered for their four children’s education. He would sometimes only work for one day out of the whole month and get paid for that single day. I was paid on a per-job basis due to the poor load factor as all international borders were closed. I was no longer on a monthly salary basis. The suffering aviation industry amidst the pandemic has left its staff stranded, laid off with no monthly income to support themselves or families.Īzrin’s income had been badly impacted since the start of COVID-19. I have lost some weight too since our opening day on October 23, 2020,” said Azrin. On days where business goes on till 10.30PM, the family would clean up the store and only arrive home at 11.30 PM. “If we’re lucky, we’ll be sold out early and can have ample time to rest before starting again the next day,” he said. When they arrive, they’re met with the hungry lunch crowd, ready to devour a hot bowl of noodle soup and fruit rojak. The family then prepare the ingredients together before travelling from their home in Shah Alam to the stall in USJ11 by 1PM. In the morning, he would start his day by going to the market to replenish ingredients for the day’s service. He recalls with sadness how he and his mother had planned for a school dedicated to special education, which didn’t take off due to the hurtful comments and objections by the neighbourhood, adding that this perception has changed dramatically in recent years.“I feel like I’m now working 24/7,” said Azrin about manning his food stall, Kapten Corner. Tan admits being ashamed of his condition as a kid, especially with the prejudicial mind-set towards special kids in the 1990s. His smooth sailing journey in life started out with challenges when diagnosed with dyslexia, a learning disability, at age 8. Something just snapped and caused the change.” “I hated wearing fine clothes never did my hair and personal grooming was never in the equation. No training, no experience,” he raves.įeeling very thankful for the opportunities presented to him by people he had never met or flown with, Tan professes to be hard working and one who would go the extra mile to pursue his passion.Įxhibiting strong people skills throughout his interview, the confident and media-savvy lad reveals how he grew up as an anti-social person, lacking confidence until the age of 16. “Prior to that, I had never done a cross continental flight in a personal aircraft. His first job involved flying an SR22, a four-seater aircraft from Oxford to Bangkok and back.Īfter receiving the job offer through a call he received while watching a movie in his sister’s house, he went for training the next day and took off four days after that. I was mostly ferry flying, which involved delivering a new, bare condition aircraft across oceans and continents, and leaving it with its new owner.” Most people think of pilots with big planes and air hostesses. Tan used to be a full-time private jet pilot, flying VVIPs around Europe, America, parts of Asia and the Middle East. He started flying at 18, became a fully qualified pilot at 20 and set the world record at 21. He was also impressed at how cool the captain looked.Īfter seeing a jet fighter fly 90 degrees straight up in the air, his initial excitement turned into passion and he has not looked back since. “My first thought was how pretty she looks!” he beams. Tan shares with The Leaderonomics Show how he first saw a Boeing 747 during a family trip to the United Kingdom, which triggered his passion in aviation. “Throughout the entire project, which took one year and four months of my life in total, the only time I felt emotional was while crossing the border of Thailand into Malaysia. Now 23, Tan, who hails from Sungai Long, Kajang was also awarded “2013 Man of the Year” by the World Record Academy.įlying a 30-year-old, single-engine Cessna 210 Eagle aircraft through 21 countries and completing 22,000 miles in 50 days, Tan, who often professes his love for Malaysia, admits being emotional before touching down at Subang Skypark. Against all odds, he set a new world record in 2013 as the youngest pilot (at age 21) to fly solo around the world by the Guinness Book of World Records. Charming Captain Overcomes Dyslexia To Become Guinness World Record Holder - Cindy YapĬaptain James Anthony Tan, born with dyslexia, did not allow his condition to hold him back.
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