KUALA LUMPUR: With the motto, ‘Malaysia Boleh, Malaysia Gemilang’, two Malaysian men will begin their expedition to cycle 30,042km around the world, come Thursday.
Abdul Khalib Zakaria, 39, and Mohd Aswad Zainal, 24, hope to complete the mission in just 288 days, or by April 26, next year.
Their mentor, Kajang Municipal Council president Datuk Hasan Nawawi did it in 389 days, from early 2001 to 2002.
Abdul Khalib, an army commando, said they expected a tough time in China as the expedition involved cycling through highlands in Yunan, Sichuan and Xinjiang.
“The weather in China will also pose a great challenge as we will have to cycle in below zero degrees Celsius,” he told reporters after receiving the Malaysian flag and RM10,000 donation from Army chief Datuk Zulkifli Mohd Zain at the National Sports Council complex here yesterday.
Abdul Khalib said, prior to this, they had conducted several exercises, including a 100-day cycling expedition through Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and China to prepare their mental and physical strength for the expedition. — Bernama