Pioneering woman pilot passes away

KOTA KINABALU: The country’s first female commercial plane pilot, Janet Chen Nyuk Jin (pic), has died at the age of 68.

The mother of one passed away on Dec 7 from undisclosed reasons.

A former colleague of hers, Captain Naru Kiob, remembers her as a strong, tactful and dedicated person.

“I was her colleague in the 1990s. At that time, there was much scepticism about female professionals, including in our line of work,” he said when contacted.

The 66-year-old said when they were colleagues in Sabah Air, she was his deputy chief pilot.

“I remember that during that time, many of our clients requested for a change of pilot when they saw her name and found out that a woman was flying their plane,” said Kiob.

He said at first, they accommodated such requests to change pilots and crew.

After a while, however, they decided to stick with the arranged pilots, and asked that clients wait when another pilot was available if they still insisted on a switch.

He said Chen, a Sabahan, was also smart.

She could handle these sceptics and difficult customers tactfully.

“Later, many had to just accept her as their pilot, and all survived their flights,” Kiob said jokingly.

He recalls those early years when customers were made to accept women as strong and capable in professions that used to be dominated by men.

“There were some who were anxious, while some were wary,” he said, adding that many also expressed lack of confidence in their female pilot.

However, they were won over after going on a flight with her,” he added.

Kiob said Chen was seen as a role model by many, men and women alike.

“She inspired them to pursue their dreams and to try what was deemed out of the ordinary back then,” he said.

He said she had also inspired many women to prove that they too were capable of greater things.

After Sabah Air, Chen went on to join AirAsia in the early 2000s.

Her funeral service will be held at the Fook Lu Siew Funeral Parlour here at noon today before cremation.