From cabin crew to cockpit: Malaysian woman’s AirAsia pilot dreams take off

South China Morning Post - Oct 6, 2026

She spent some of her teenage years helping her mother at a sundry shop in Malaysia after school, and throughout that period kept a dream of achieving something higher alive. Now, 36-year-old Suriati Sukardi is a pilot, flying AirAsia’s commercial A320 and A321 Airbus aircraft. Before that, she had landed a job as the airline’s flight attendant and served the company for eight years since 2017 while continuing to eye and seek an opportunity to climb further in her career. In 2019, her prayers...

Read full article

More News

Warisan wants names of contractors, consultants behind Pan Borneo delays
Oct 6, 2026
Warisan wants names of contractors, consultants behind Pan Borneo delays

Chen describes audit findings as 'indictment of failed governance'.

China builds plant that turns seawater into hydrogen and fresh water using its own waste heat
Oct 6, 2026
China builds plant that turns seawater into hydrogen and fresh water using its own waste heat

Chinese scientists have built a 250-kilowatt plant that makes hydrogen and fresh water from seawater in a single system, reusing the electrolyzer's waste heat to raise electrical efficiency by 14.4%.

Paedophile-hunting thriller inspired by US TV show banned in Malaysia
Oct 6, 2026
Paedophile-hunting thriller inspired by US TV show banned in Malaysia

UPDATED 6.06PM | The film's distributor and a cinema chain confirm it has been banned by the Film Censorship Board.

Animal caricatures: PKR Youth leader says sorry to PAS MP, defamation suit settled
Oct 6, 2026
Animal caricatures: PKR Youth leader says sorry to PAS MP, defamation suit settled

Case concerns Fadhli's social media post after Anwar mediated Thailand-Cambodia ceasefire.

Asia's richest country pays $39M to 8,000 severely disabled citizens
Oct 6, 2026
Asia's richest country pays $39M to 8,000 severely disabled citizens

Nearly 8,000 severely disabled Singaporeans from lower-income households have received almost S$50 million (US$39 million) in long-term care financial support through the government's ElderFund scheme since its launch in 2020.

8 public officers in Singapore referred to police after property review
Oct 6, 2026
8 public officers in Singapore referred to police after property review

Eight public service officers have been referred to Singapore police after a review of 191 officers’ property transactions, Coordinating Minister for Public Services Chan Chun Sing has told parliament. The review followed a working paper by the US-based National Bureau of Economic Research, which identified 2007 to 2011 as the period of concern. The Public Service Division (PSD) extended the scope to 2014 as a matter of prudence, Chan said on Tuesday, because many new MRT station locations...

Article 153's ultimate objective is equality, NGO schools Asyraf after UiTM speech
Oct 6, 2026
Article 153's ultimate objective is equality, NGO schools Asyraf after UiTM speech

Pusat Komas says the Mara chairperson's speech to UiTM students contradicts the provision's purpose.

Singaporean woman lands on US 'worst of the worst' list for running prostitution ring
Oct 6, 2026
Singaporean woman lands on US 'worst of the worst' list for running prostitution ring

A Singaporean woman convicted of promoting prostitution at a chain of massage parlors in Washington state is the third citizen of the city-state named on the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's "worst of the worst criminal aliens" list.

Govt wants laws to make AI chatbots safe for kids, but will it work?
Oct 6, 2026
Govt wants laws to make AI chatbots safe for kids, but will it work?

Effective AI safeguards remain a technical challenge.

How Singapore’s local cafes compete with Chinese coffee giant Luckin
Oct 6, 2026
How Singapore’s local cafes compete with Chinese coffee giant Luckin

When Chinese coffee giant Luckin Coffee moved into the unit next to his neighbourhood cafe in Singapore, Folk Yard owner Chew Yit Shan grew nervous. Luckin launched with an aggressive promotional deal of S$1 (78 US cents) per cup, served in just two minutes. In the first few months following its arrival, Chew saw sales at his independent cafe drop by 15 per cent. But once the initial hype had died down and the promotions ended, Chew said regular patrons returned and coffee sales bounced...

Southeast Asia urged to step up war against AI-powered scams through data sharing
Oct 6, 2026
Southeast Asia urged to step up war against AI-powered scams through data sharing

Governments and financial institutions in Southeast Asia urgently need to find a way to safely and quickly share data if they hope to contain a surge in scams, cybersecurity experts warn, as artificial intelligence enables criminal operations in the region to expand their reach rapidly. Criminal enterprises stole as much as US$114 billion from victims across the Asia-Pacific in 2025, according to a United Nations report released in July, more than triple the amount from two years earlier, aided...

Authors honoured and awarded for telling stories about Hà Nội
Oct 6, 2026
Authors honoured and awarded for telling stories about Hà Nội

Yêu Một Hà Nội (Loving Hà Nội) author Nguyễn Thị Thanh Xuân wins the top prize for a writing contest about Hà Nội at an October 6 ceremony.

KL Explore

KL Explore is a Travel site for tourist or locals who would love to experience the multicultural atmosphere in Malaysia.

ABOUT US

Contact us: sales[at]klexplore.com