Major Dr Faiz Khaleed’s entrance was nothing short of dramatic.
Having burst into the meeting lounge of the National Space Agency (ANGKASA), the cosmonaut-in-waiting proceeded to pump the hand of a startled gentleman whom he assumed was the photographer.
Action hero: Faiz strikes a ‘Tony Jaa’ pose On discovering that the man was waiting for someone else, he let out an apologetic “oops”, flashed his signature grin and recovered from the faux pas by proposing an adjournment to Alamanda, a mall in Putrajaya.
It is anyone’s guess why Faiz had opted for a change of venue but in retrospect, this hyperactive Virgo must have wanted to placate a hungry tum, having burnt off the remnants of his breakfast darting around all morning.
And true enough, the first pit stop he made when we arrived at Alamanda was to head for Rotiboy, whose coffee-flavoured Mexican buns are a great favourite of his.
“I love the smell of coffee,” affirmed this famous Johannian as he dug into the aromatic breads with relish.
Having said so, this army dentist admitted to being a loyal patron of San Francisco Coffee and Starbucks.
Alternatively, he might head for Secret Recipe for its marble cheesecake or savour an ice-cream cone.
While the weight watcher would have balked at the calories, this lithe, zippy bachelor brushed aside all thoughts of gaining weight on his favourite chow.
As long as one took care to watch one’s intake of carbohydrates and fats on a daily basis, Faiz surmised that an occasional indulgence was perfectly okay.
Furthermore, he also leads an active lifestyle.
Karate, drum jamming sessions, capoeira and dancing are some of the things that occupy this bachelor’s time on his days off.
Even on work days, Faiz perks up his mornings by doing a jig in front of the mirror.
Faiz, however, confessed that he no longer practises karate as much as he used to due to his work commitments with ANGKASA but it was an activity which had dominated his secondary and university days.
Cheesecake lover: It’s okay to indulge once in a while, says Faiz. “Karate was something I seriously went into after my father, Khaleed Abdullah, 59, put me up to the challenge when I was 13.
“It started when I asked him to buy me a gi and he remarked that there was no need to since I’d grow tired of it after a few classes.
“He was, of course, referring to the time when I joined the Boy Scouts, something I subsequently lost interest in.
“But karate was different as it required me to develop a rhythm with my hands and feet. It was about timing, coordination, speed and accuracy.
“And mastering these would take up most of my weekends as I went for karate classes,” recalled the Universiti Malaya graduate.
The intensity of his karate training sessions must have concerned his mother Mazenah Mohamad, 54, who tried suggesting that the boisterous teen take up a sport with less physical contact.
The possibility of her son losing his front teeth must have been too much to bear.
“My coach would invite exponents from other classes to spar with us and they were usually much older.
“In the beginning, the bouts were often one-sided because I always got whacked.
“Over time, I developed a level of resilience. I still got whacked but I managed to stay in the ring,” recalled Faiz, a 1st Dan, who flashed his signature grin again to reveal that he had survived the ordeal with his teeth intact.
The eldest of three siblings, Faiz said he had grown up in a close-knit family, adding that time spent with his parents, brother, Faizal, 26 and sister, Faira, 23, was something he greatly cherished. It is not unusual to find the whole family huddled together in front of the TV when Faiz is home.
“My brother and sister share the same set of friends and we often hang out together. We’d call each other to find out where the other was going and meet up.
“And because everybody knows everybody, it’s always a fun affair,” said Faiz who loves to frequent the cafes in Sri Hartamas and Taman Tun Dr Ismail in Kuala Lumpur.
Game for anything: Faiz with his Sony PSP. Otherwise, this gregarious character can be found testing his reflexes in front of his X-box game console.
“I love to play video games because it sharpens your reflexes. When I am on the road, I always have my Sony PSP with me so that if I have to wait, I can pass the time with a fighting or race car game.
“I prefer quick games rather than the long, complicated ones where you have to complete tasks to get to the next stage.
“The other thing that draws me to them is the graphics, which makes the game rather realistic,” he said.
Video games aside, Faiz is also a movie buff and revealed he had worked at Mid Valley’s Golden Screen Cinema as a popcorn vendor during his university days.
“That was the time when Scorpion King (starring The Rock) and Batman (starring Michael Keaton) were playing,” recalled Faiz who has an affinity for action movies.
Faiz cited Tony Jaa of Ong Bak and Tom Yum Goong fame as one of his favourite action heroes.
And of course, Faiz has a favourite line to reflect on when things get tough.
“One line from the movie Iron Man (starring Robert Downey Jr) that struck a chord was, ‘We’ve been through worse weather before’. So whenever I am feeling down, I think of that and it lifts me up,” said Faiz.
Faiz can be reached at faizkhaleed@yahoo. com
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