NST Online: StreetsJohor
NST Online: StreetsJohor |
| Posted: 12 Oct 2011 09:13 AM PDT 2011/10/12 Johor Senior Citizens Association members and their families enjoyed themselves during the association's eighth annual family day Over 150 Johor Senior Citizens Association members and their families had great fun at the association's eighth annual family day, held recently at Hutan Bandar in Jalan Tasek Utara. They played childhood games like the fishball-and-spoon relay and took part in a jogathon.
Children were included in the fun in the colouring competition open to those aged five to 10. Stulang assemblyman Mok Chek Hou flagged off the 2km jogathon.
In his speech, Mok commended the association for organising a programme that was meaningful and fostered goodwill between members. He also stressed on the importance of being fit. "Regular exercise reduces the risks of falling ill," he said.
"I feel healthier for it. Jogging with friends is a fun experience," said Aishah who is the state welfare council secretary. Parameswari, who signed up as an association member six months ago, said she would participate in all the programmes the association organised. Heng Kok Kai drew the most attention at the race as its oldest participant The gritty 97-year-old come up ninth behind eight contestants who were at least 30 years his junior. His secret formula for staying healthy and alert was happiness and a good diet -- both to be applied at all times. The Modenas rim race had participants push a motorbike rim along with the aid of a stick for about 75m. The race was won by 53-year-old Lim Tuan Cheat. Zohdan Omar's team won the "baby elephant walk" by covering 100 metres in 15 minutes. "We practised consistently a week prior to the race and we made sure to only have a light breakfast today," said 72-year-old former secondary school principal who led the team. Kempas assemblyman Datuk Osman Sapian launched the event. Also present were state welfare council vice chairman Mohamad Abdul Jalal and the association organising chairman Soon Boon Keng. Full content generated by Get Full RSS. |
| Longing for the good old 'kapchai' days Posted: 12 Oct 2011 07:22 AM PDT 2011/10/12 AS a former motorcycle racer, I hold a high regard for Johor racers as the state has had many successful racers in motorsports at the national level. The early 1990s saw many races in the state, and most of us racers would look forward to perform our best. I started my racing career in my home state of Perak when I was still in my late teens. I later made it to the national circuits by successfully racing in the cub prix series.
The regional racing circuit in Pasir Gudang, now known as the Johor Circuit, was important as the region's best motorcycle and car racers once battled it out on its tarmac some 20 years ago. At that time, the Johor Motorsports Club (JMC) was among the most active state-level sanctioning motorsports clubs.
It taught me that in order to do well as a club owner and organiser, one must be active at the grassroots-level to promote the sport actively. Despite not actively competing as a racer anymore, I am still very much in touch with most of the motorcycle race teams, and also the Suzuki Racing Team which was known as the Hi-Rev Suzuki Team when I was racing with them in the 1990s.
My friend and former racer Shahrul Yuzy Ahmad Zaini is retired, but acts as a team manager for a cub prix team and will explain any new developments in the sport to me. Obviously, things are different now as there are many developments in the field of motorsports, especially motorcycle racing, as the demand is for less polluting emissions such as four-stroke machines. However, since the mid- to late 2000s, JMC has not been active. This has resulted in a lack of Johor-born talents who make it to the top-level kapchai and car races. Johor had potential in motorsports in the late 1980s and 1990s, as I had many memorable wins in the state, especially at the Pasir Gudang circuit. I still remember my first kapchai race in the state that was held in Batu Pahat in 1990. Following this, I raced in Johor at least once a year for the cub prix and other race events that were held there for the next decade. Of late, I feel that Johor as a state is not that active in organising racing events as before. Even Malacca, which was once not even listed in the annual motorsports calendar, is now on many race organisers' agenda as its state government has been aggressively promoting the state as a destination for such events. Personally, I feel that Johor can still rise again to be back in the motorsports scene with support from the state government and various state-based motorsports clubs. Wazi Abdul Hamid, 41, is a veteran motorcycle racing champion and the undisputed Malaysian Kapchai King. He is still active in the motorcycle scene and divides his time between family and his beloved sport. He is also a motorcycle safety consultant to schools and government agencies. Interview by Ben Tan Full content generated by Get Full RSS. |
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