www.borneo4x4.com
Borneo Safari 2008
INQUIRY INFORMATION OPENS
by FRED LEONG – 25.8.2008.
KOTA
KINABALU: Kinabalu Four Wheel Drive Club (KFWDC) members, who wish to
participate in this year’s annual International Borneo Safari 4x4
Challenge have been informed that an Even Secretariat has been set to
cater for enquiries.
KFWDC President James Wong (left), who chaired a meeting on Sunday night said, the secretariat will be manned by a staff (Miss Jessica Chong) who will be responsible to answer all enquiries either locally or overseas pertaining to the Borneo Safari, scheduled for Oct 26 – Nov 2.
He said, the setting up of the event secretariat was to ease congestion when it comes to registration of participants and also to give and disperse latest information to all local and foreign enquiries.
The
secretariat is located at Mile 8, Old Tuaran Road, and enquirers can
contact Jessica at 013-8817389 or Fax: 088-383286 for more information,
such as the dates for scrutinizing of vehicles (Oct 4-5, Oct 11-12, Oct
24-25), flag-off, routes, registration forms, venues for related
schedules among others.
Linga Lama campsite for Day 1 - nice cool, clear water
James added, this year, they expect more foreign participants apart from the regulars from Japan and Peninsular Malaysia and Sarawak, basing from the umber of enquiries and confirmations received so far, and this include more foreign electronic and print media as well.
Apart from RTM Television crew, negotiations are underway to invite TV 3 and Astro where both organisations have shown their interest to cover the event this year.
Numerous
replies have been received following early invitations sent to foreign
media and KFWDC wished to thank the Sabah Tourism Board (STB) for their
assistance and also willingness to take care of the journalists’
airfares and accommodations in Kota Kinabalu.
Borneo Safari scouts searching for stages and routes. Here they try to find a way through thick undergrowth.
“We are very grateful to STB’s gesture and assistance in supporting us and our event thus enabling us to invite as many electronic and print media to cover the event this year, which I believe will be one of the best ever coverage given,” he said.
“All are set to organise the extreme hardcore challenge and so far we have received good response coming from local enthusiasts and also from foreign participants who have confirmed their participations either as competitors, media or observers.”
“A group of ten officials from the Kuala Lumpur 4x4 Adventure Club, to be led by its president have also confirmed their participations and this alone will see a number of hardcore competitors from Peninsular Malaysia ready to take on the challenge.”
He said, as things get nearer to the event proper, all the organising committee members are busy varying out their specific assignments while at the sametime, more and more sponsors are also pouring in support of the event.
The committee has finally able to finalise the exact route after Recce chief Lee Yun Sang @ Shantung Lee and his team managed to make the links along the lower ridges of the Crocker Range, which he described to be yet another grueling hardcore terrain.
He reminded all vehicle owners to take note of the dates for their vehicles to undergo strict scrutinizing process that will be on Oct 4-5, Oct 11-12 at the Hi-Tech Electronic Centre along Jalan Tuaran to be conducted by a team led by Hiew Min Kiyun.
The final checking process, that will be strictly carried out to ensure that vehicles are well equipped and road worthy to sustain the punishment of hardcore off-road condition will be held on Oct 24-25, after this, vehicles who fail to undergo such process would not be allowed in.
Participants are compulsory to bring along hoes (Cangkuls), spades and complete recovery kits in every vehicle.