Over the past weekend, local highways saw a mass exodus of Malaysians returning back to their home states to carry out their civic responsibilities as citizens and cast their votes. Predictably, this also means long, snaking traffic congestion that could leave many feeling a little worse for wear. Which is why in the case of one Malaysian woman, she decided to take a completely different approach to make it back to her constituency in time with dramatic flair.
Forgoing typical means of transportation such as by car, bus, or even train, local netizen Vivian Tye made the rather unconventional decision to pilot a plane to fly all the way from Subang, Selangor to Kedah for the General Elections. Taking to popular video sharing platform TikTok to recount her experience, she demonstrated how she piloted a plane for the sake of being able to cast her ballot.
M’sian pilots plane to Kedah to cast her ballot
In speaking with WauPost on the experience, Vivian shares that she fell in love with aviation ever since she boarded her first flight at the tender age of 9, and eventually came to realise that it was something that she would want to pursue when she grew up.
The excitement of being able to pilot a plane was only further compounded by the fact that this was the very first time Vivian has ever participated in a General Election, as well as being her first-ever maiden cross-country flight locally.
“Being able to land at my hometown is my dream and I really appreciate everyone who made this happen especially my boss.” she said.
As for sharing her journey on TikTok, Vivian said that she was hoping to share more about general aviation to Malaysians, as many may only be familiar with private jets in the sector. She obtained her flight license at the age of 24, and flies leisurely to ensure that her license remains current.
As she explains it, another individual piloted the first portion of their journey from Subang to Penang, before she would take over to fly from Penang to Alor Setar. The journey began at around 3.00pm on November 18th, 2022 with clear skies, with Vivian arriving in her home state by 5.15pm, bringing the total commuting time to around two hours.
Having cast her very first ballot in truly memorable fashion, she hopes that a new government can be finalised soon, and that it would go on to lead Malaysia to greater strengths during a period fraught with uncertainty.
“A lot of Malaysians take the initiative to vote and that’s really amazing to see how united Malaysians are.”
She also urges Malaysians to remain united, regardless of whatever the outcome may prove to be.
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