Pak Wan eyes MBOR's fifth record

KOTA BHARU, May 6 (Bernama) -- The fasting month will not be an obstacle for the septuagenarian cyclist Wan Hashim Wan Mahmood, to undergo training for his fifth Malaysia Book Of Records (MBOR) attempt next month.

The 73-year-old, who is well known as Pak Wan, will try to put his name as “The Oldest Senior Citizen  Men with the Fastest Solo Cycling Around the Peninsula” and his fifth mission involving a distance of 2,400 kilometres (km) starting June 22 will be done in a shorter period.

“This time, I want to conquer the Peninsula in a shorter time that is within 15 days compared to 30 days done in the previous mission,” he told a press conference here, today which was attended by Kelantan Darul Naim Media Club (Kemudi) president, Azran Fitri Ab Rahim.

In ensuring he can finish the tour within 15 days, Pak Wan noted that he has to cycle an average of 120 to 130 km per day.

The grandfather of 20 grandchildren will start his cycling tour from Kota Bharu to Pengkalan Kubor, Tumpat before heading to Tak Bai, Thailand and then from Padang Besar, Perlis, he will resume his tour around the Peninsula before ending it in Kota Bharu on July 10.

Pak Wan gained his first MBOR’s recognition after completing his solo cycling tour of 2,200 km around the Peninsula on Feb 28, 2014, and in January the following year, he completed his cycling mission to Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Singapore and Riau, Indonesia, before completing it with a 5,319 km tour around the Peninsula.

He claimed his third and fourth MBOR recognition last year when he completed a 43-day tour from Peninsular Malaysia to Singapore and Southern Thailand accompanied by Kelantan Bernama part-time photographer Shahuri Awang and later followed by a solo trip around the country.

Meanwhile, Azran Fitri said Pak Wan's mission this time also brought a message on the importance of getting the right information to the public through Kemudi’s Information Awareness Campaign, where Pak Wan would distribute a leaflet that lists the websites of all the state's registered media during his tour.

"This collaboration is to raise awareness among the public to choose a valid news channel or mainstream media. At the same time it will also educate the public on the negative impact of receiving and distributing inaccurate information," he said.

-- BERNAMA