Kota Kinabalu: It was like a dream came true for 22-year-old Chia Wen Chian when he was among 624 candidates in the country to be offered the post of a fire and rescue officer.He said he was ecstatic when he received a letter of offer from the Fire and Rescue Services Department to go for training - the only Chinese among 172 candidates offered the post in Sabah.
"I know I have made the right decision to resign from my old job as an accounts clerk at a private company in Tawau for two years.
"I think my passion and ambition to be a fireman drove me to quit.
"And I am so, so, relieved and happy that the department accepted my application and called me to undergo six months basic training in the Sabah Fire and Rescue Academy here," he said.
Due to his passion, Chia, the youngest in a brood of six, said he was also a "Bomba" cadet during his secondary school days and a volunteer firefighter in his residential area, Taman Pasadena in Tawau.
Ahmad Asmary Chendy, 31, who has a two-year-old son, is pleased that the department did not look at his age as a factor.
"I do not think it is too late for me to seek employment with the department and enjoy a permanent job in the government sector.
"Actually I had applied for the post a few times in the past, and this time, the department sent me a letter of offer, which I accepted with a big smile.
This is really my Hari Raya gift, this year," said Ahmad who previously worked in Tawau.
The Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) diploma holder, is willing to be posted to any of the fire and rescue station in the country.
As for 22-year-old Siti Hajar Husen, she recalled jumping in delight when she received the offer letter from the department at her family residence in Sandakan.
"It has been my ambition to be a firewoman since I was small because I like the outdoors and challenging tasks. "When I received the letter, I could not describe my happiness that day. Now, I am more determined to do the best I can in the academy towards pursuing my ambition to be a fire and rescue officer," she said.
The fourth in a family of seven children, Siti was appointed vice-chairman of the SMK Elopura Fire and Rescue Cadet Corps and had many times joined marching competitions to represent the school.
Like Ahmad, she said she is prepared also mentally, physically and spiritually to serve the department anywhere.
"It is my first time being far away from my family in Sandakan.
I do feel sad but I am glad that my parents and siblings understand my decision to pursue my ambition," she said.
