‘A perfect son and brother’

Dearly departed: Sivasutan seen wearing his uniform.

IPOH: In their eyes, he was the perfect son and brother.

And his senior officers apparently viewed him as an exemplary pilot.

But Leftenan T. Sivasutan is no more. He was among the 10 crew members killed when two helicopters collided during training at the naval base in Lumut, Perak, on Tuesday.

“He was, and will always remain precious to my family,” said his younger sister T. Sivasundari, 30.

“He was a perfect son, a perfect brother and husband,” she said of Sivasutan, who turned 31 about three months ago.

A previous report, quoting a relative, stated that Sivasutan had just got married in January.

In an interview yesterday, Sivasundari said her brother had always wanted to serve in the Navy.

As a young boy, she said Siva-sutan would get excited playing with toy aeroplanes and other army gadgets.

“When he completed Form Five, he told our parents that he did not want to go to Form Six. Neither was he interested in becoming a teacher.”

Both their parents are retired school teachers.

“He talked about becoming a navy officer. He worked really hard mentally and physically to be able to get into Universiti Pertahanan Nasional Malaysia.

“He used to go jogging daily with my parents. They would time his runs, in preparation for the physical test before gaining entry into the university,” said Sivasundari, who is a primary school teacher in Manjung, Perak.

Another older sister is a government doctor.

Sivasundari said upon graduation, her brother had served in Penang and Sabah before returning to Lumut two years ago.

“Later, he was given an option by his superiors to either train in the submarine or piloting sector. My brother chose piloting.

“His senior officers used to praise him, saying that he never made mistakes, and that he was the perfect pilot during training.”

“He had flown a few times before in Penang and Sabah, and two years back he had participated in the Navy Day parade as well,” she added.

She said that their parents had been rather worried for him but he was enjoying every bit of his work.

Recalling her last conversation with him, Sivasundari said he spoke to her the night before asking her if he could borrow a ruler, as he wanted to prepare for his training.

“That was probably the first time in years he entered my room, as he was not the type to simply enter rooms, especially if it is occupied by a woman.

“Usually, both us would get up at around 6am daily for work. But on that morning, he woke up at 5am, as he had to attend a briefing. He got dressed, did his prayers and left home.

“Now, I will never see him again,” she said.