Hills, Helicopters and ...

Well, Bukit Tinggi wasn't so bad. It's a nice retreat from the hectic city life nonetheless. The family and I stayed at the Meranti Apartments overlooking a lush green valley.. a breathtaking sight indeed.

Anyway, it so happen that a TUDM Nuri helicopter went missing around Genting Sempah so from my room I can see and hear the thundering sound of the search and rescue helicopter looking for signs of the ill-fated Nuri. Let's pray for the best to the victims.. Looking back through Malaysian aviation history, the Nuri chopper is synonymous with crashes which is no surprise considering the fact that the US-made Sikorsky S-61A-4 Nuri is already servicing the Malaysian Air Force for 3 decades. Talk about old..

Nevertheless, I noticed something while I was watching the news coverage on the missing aircraft. Instead of calling the chopper a Nuri, they suddenly decided to call it a Sikorsky S-61. Well, of course technically both terms point to the same machine so why is this such a big issue? Easy, most Malaysian know what a Nuri is; an old, old chopper prone to problems but not all know that a Nuri is a Sikorsky S-61 thus giving the impression that it's not a Nuri that went missing, instead another type of chopper. Put that all together and you'll probably be saved from the whole Nuri controversy again. Simple PR.

Labels: Malaysia