TRANS BORNEO RETURNS When the landing craft (LCT) finally arrives after 2 days of delay, it is learnt that it can only accommodate 14 out of the 25 vehicles, splitting the expedition into two groups. An impressive welcome party made up of a large fleet of local speed boats st 8th July, 2014 After a lap of more than 17 years, the once renowned off-road expedition to circumnavigate the world’s third largest Island (Borneo), dubbed – the Silverstone Trans Borneo International Jungle Periplus is back. For some hardcore selected few, it will be a trip down memory lane. For new comers, this over-land 4×4 expeditions will be an unforgettable adventure of a lifetime, scheduled to embark on an epic road trip from August 17-31. Embarking on the BIMP-EAGA concept, it will be a reunion for few personalities who have become legends among four-wheel-drive fratenity in the country, including lawyer Anuar Ghani, Dr. Teo Siang Chin (Sabah), Indonesian Off-Road Federation (IOF) founder Harry Sanusi (better known as Pak Harry), Ibrahim Awang Damit (Brunei), journalist/4×4 magazine (SM4) publisher Yamin Vong (KL), Sarawak’s Richard “Volvo” Voon, Petrus Alfred (grandfather) and Chai Yew Foo. “It has really been a very long time since the last Trans Borneo was held in 1997, I decided to go ahead with the idea after consultations with some of these hardcore pioneers to bring back the old-timers to be together in this upcoming adventure to rekindle the sparks again,” Pak Harry said when met in Kota Kinabalu recently. Pak Harry has been in and out of Sarawak, Brunei, Sabah and Indonesia for the past few months to regroup these hardcore pioneers. He had successfully traced them down one by one namely, Anuar, Teo, Foo, Richard, Ibrahim, and 4×4 writer Paul Si (Sarawak) and Fred (KK), who had been Malaysian’s media representatives then. Master – minded by Anuar, the historic Silverstone Trans-Borneo International Jungle Periplus was the first circumnavigation ever attempted on the island of Borneo in 1997. After 42-gruelling days of reconnaissance in Kalimantan, it was apparent that to bring 25 vehicles and 72 participants around the island was a truly monumental logistic and administrative undertaking, according to Anuar. It has never been done before, and there was the ocean, mountains, innumerable rivers to cross, not to mention the numerous border crossings, but through teamwork, commitment, cooperation and camaraderie approaches among participants, Borneo was successfully highlighted in the world map. Such great success was simply an example of true fellowship of participants from 12 different countries (majority were foreign journalists) between organisers, fellow participants and ultimately, between members of the BIMP-EAGA (Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines –East Asian Growth Area) group. The over-land, sea and mountain event also showed that the people of Kalimantan are ready and willing to open up to the rest of the world. Borneo is a serious tour destination, the place of origin for the Orang Utan, Probosis monkey, Borneo Elephant, Hornbill and Raflesia Participants not only had the personal satisfaction of creating history of sort, but also had an unforgettable cross culture exposure and experience as well and for foreign journalists to write, which has literally became well-known destination to the rest of the world, especially in the Japanese and European markets. Events such as this can play a major role to promote unity, closer ties and better understanding between member states and nationals of the BIMP-EAGA. Pak Harry in announcing the upcoming event said, he was lucky and fortunate to be able to reach out to his network of old 4×4 buddies across the region and the Trans Borneo 2014 quickly took shape (a 2500km drive). Participants from Sabah will begin rolling first in mid-August towards Brunei and Kuching before reaching Pontianak, West Kalimantan, where the expedition will be flagged off on Indonesian’s Independence Day (Aug 17). The convoy of 30 this time round will make its way south to Banjarmasin-Balikpapan-Tanjung Rebeb-Malinau-Seimanggaris-Tawau-Kota Kinabalu (Malaysia National Day on Aug 31)-Sempang Manga (Copied post)
Posted on: Fri, 11 Jul 2014 06:51:08 +0000
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