Merdeka Day Family Fun Ride

Cyclists getting ready for the ride

UTAR together with the Sungai Long Medical Center (SLMC) and Sungai Long Residence Association (SLRA) organised the Merdeka Day Family Fun Ride on 28 August 2016 in conjunction with Malaysia’s 59^th National Day.

The inaugural fun ride successfully attracted participation from UTAR staff and students as well as members from the Sungai Long and Mahkota Cheras communities. The participants also included elderly people and children. There were a total of 120 cyclists for both Category A and Category B which consisted of a 10km and 20km route respectively.

Themed ‘Cycling, the new way of life’, the event was set to promote cycling as an alternative form of transport for a healthy lifestyle. SLMC’s Chief Executive Officer Alexandra Chong said, “This fun ride was initiated by the SLRA along with the collective effort of enthusiastic individuals and organisations like UTAR and SLMC. We believe this is an important step towards addressing the traffic and parking issues of the town.” She continued, “It is also our role as a medical centre to remind the public that ‘prevention is better than a cure’. We would like to take this opportunity to prompt the public to live a healthy lifestyle through regular exercise such as cycling.”

Tuam Kwok Choon from UTAR said, “My bicycle is my main mode of transport and I cycle to work every day. Apart from creating awareness in our community that bicycles can be an alternative to cars, we also want to alert the public that cycling is part of the efforts to build a more sustainable city through energy saving and pollution prevention.”

The Merdeka Day Family Fun Ride was sponsored by Kajang Municipal Council (MPKj). Browse here for more photos of the event.