KUALA LUMPUR: Some may say they are dicing with death. And most everyone will agree it is not an activity for the faint-hearted.
But retired Royal Malaysian Air Force pilot Abdul Aziz Ahmad and his group of Base-jumpers leap with ecstasy every time they partake in this adrenaline-pumping sporting hobby.
Base is the acronym for buildings, antennae (radio masts), spans (bridges) and earth (cliffs), the places from where people jump off and land with a parachute.
And they are not a reckless bunch but dead-serious with a very high sense of safety, so as not to gamble with their lives.
Hence, it was no different on Malaysia Day when nine members of the Ababil Base Jump Club leaped off a makeshift platform just 300ft (about 91.5m) high, off Batu Caves and landed on the public field in Kampung Wira Damai.
Among the nine were Aziz and club secretary Adi Khirman Marji.
Aziz, who will turn 64 on Oct 1, said the group had been Base jumping and paragliding as a hobby since 1999. Currently, the youngest member is 26 and Aziz is the oldest.
"I mooted the idea to them to establish a formal club, after I founded Base jumping in the country, and it was well received.
"We got our act together to finally register the club in 2019, after sorting out various formalities.
"There is no looking back now and I must admit that the members look forward to more and more jumps," he said.
Aziz had a five-year stint with the Royal Malaysian Air Force's special forces unit and had his first parachute jump in 1977.
In 2008, he miraculously cheated death when the Zodiac light aircraft he was piloting crashed near the Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah airport in Subang.
Aziz was warded at the Selayang Hospital's intensive care unit for severe burns to his legs for three months, while his co-pilot was warded there for a month.
"It was a very harrowing experience for both of us but it did not stop us from continuing with our aviation activities," said the father of three sons.
On the club's name, he said Ababil was chosen to remember the tale of a flock of flying nightingales roped in to drop rocks, to thwart the enemy from storming Mecca's holy Kaaba.
"Each of us have at least performed 150 parachute sky jumps, either with the security forces or civilian parajump outfits, before being eligible to do Base jumps.
"Therefore, we are all well-versed with the requirements and safety aspects," said Aziz, who has performed 3,000 sky jumps and 500 Base jumps to date.
Among the BASE jumps the club members have done are from the Kuala Lumpur Tower, Petronas Twin Towers, Komtar Tower in Penang, Alor Star Tower, Eye of Melaka, Teruntum Complex in Kuantan, the Felda Hotel and Wisma Persekutuan in Kuala Terengganu and Wisma Sanyan in Sibu.
"We were also invited to perform at the Indonesian Warrior's Day celebrations at the Imperial Building in Jakarta in 2009.
"We were very touched with the honour given by their armed forces who recognised our skills and enthusiasm," said Aziz, who is also an avid cyclist who hails from Kampung Wadi Hassan in Johor Baru but now resides in Taman Melawati, Kuala Lumpur.
For the record, Aziz is also a qualified parajump instructor-cum-examiner, Malaysian Sports Aviation Federation vice-president, has won several parajumping and Base jumping awards, holds a Private Pilot's Licence and has a Jump Pilot endorsement with over 2,000 hours.
He was also the first Malaysian BASE jumper off Kuala Lumpur Tower in 1999 and also participated at the 1996 and 2002 Malaysia Games, and 1998 Kuala Lumpur Commonwealth Games opening ceremonies.
He has represented Malaysia at the World skydiving championships in Australia (1984/1994) and in China (1992); the Thailand skydiving championship 1982-1999; and the Indonesia skydiving championships 1983-2014.
In 1998, Aziz was the lead jumper for the Malaysian North Pole Skydiving Expedition that air-dropped a Proton Wira car.