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A Review of Electcoms Jelajah Malaysia 2008
The jubilant and triumphant faces of the contractors, managers and staff despite the overcast sky and drenched roads sums it all up rather appropriately. A whole year’s worth of plans, surveys, discussions, meetings, arguments and preparation came down to the exact moment when the President of the Commissaire Panel declared that the Jelajah Malaysia 2008 could really be the best Category 2.2 cycling race in the world.
Hot on the heels of a successful Jelajah Malaysia 2007, it was now once again up to Ten Speed Events chairman, Datuk Astaman Abdul Aziz and his team to figure out how to up the ante and raise the bar for 2008. Comments and suggestions flowed freely at the post-mortem, and every single one was carefully documented to ensure that each issue was addressed. In July 2007, the technical team went for the first recce, with specific instructions from the Chairman to make the route more technical and mountainous than the previous edition.
A tentative route was presented to the Ministry of Youth and Sports and potential sponsors for their comments, and before long, the nod was given for the 2008 route by the Hon. Dato’ Seri Azalina Othman Said, along with the essential official support documentation.
Working through countless days and nights, the technical staff headed by Race Controller Jamaluddin Mahmood and Operations Director Emir Abdul Jalal came up with a much more challenging route for the Electcoms Jelajah Malaysia, taking a southerly course and for the first time ever, featuring a climb on the infamous hills of the Genting Highlands, apart from fine tuning the invitations to ensure that only the best teams are represented.
In a clear testament to the organisation of the race in 2007, a total of 39 teams from all over the world requested to be invited, and in the end, a record 21 teams were accepted, with the first ever participation of UCI Professional Continental Team Skil-Shimano along with 10 continental teams, 6 national teams and 5 club teams from all over Asia and Europe.
On the administrative side, race Executive Director Ahmad Arif Astaman supervised the creation and implementation of the race image and branding, apart from the sponsorship aspects. Taking into account sponsor and contractor feedback, new staging equipment was fabricated and the branding application fine-tuned to upgrade the race to a higher plane and in line with the declared mission of the Chairman, which is to make the Jelajah Malaysia series the best Category 2.2 race in the world.
In a show of courage and farsightedness, Electcoms Berhad stepped in to become the title sponsor for 2008. Happily, the race managed to retain all of its previous official sponsors, including RTM, Nestle Products Sdn Bhd (Milo), Permanis Sdn. Bhd. (Bleu & Revive) and Champion System, and even managed to bring in Tourism Malaysia for the 2008 edition. Without their commitment and support, it would have been impossible for the Jelajah Malaysia to be what it is today, and they stand as fine examples of what the private sector can do for local sports development.
By the time 2007 drew to a close and 2008 dawned, all systems were good to go and everyone was geared up to make it the best ever Jelajah Malaysia.
Hot on the heels of a successful Jelajah Malaysia 2007, it was now once again up to Ten Speed Events chairman, Datuk Astaman Abdul Aziz and his team to figure out how to up the ante and raise the bar for 2008. Comments and suggestions flowed freely at the post-mortem, and every single one was carefully documented to ensure that each issue was addressed. In July 2007, the technical team went for the first recce, with specific instructions from the Chairman to make the route more technical and mountainous than the previous edition.
A tentative route was presented to the Ministry of Youth and Sports and potential sponsors for their comments, and before long, the nod was given for the 2008 route by the Hon. Dato’ Seri Azalina Othman Said, along with the essential official support documentation.
Working through countless days and nights, the technical staff headed by Race Controller Jamaluddin Mahmood and Operations Director Emir Abdul Jalal came up with a much more challenging route for the Electcoms Jelajah Malaysia, taking a southerly course and for the first time ever, featuring a climb on the infamous hills of the Genting Highlands, apart from fine tuning the invitations to ensure that only the best teams are represented.
In a clear testament to the organisation of the race in 2007, a total of 39 teams from all over the world requested to be invited, and in the end, a record 21 teams were accepted, with the first ever participation of UCI Professional Continental Team Skil-Shimano along with 10 continental teams, 6 national teams and 5 club teams from all over Asia and Europe.
On the administrative side, race Executive Director Ahmad Arif Astaman supervised the creation and implementation of the race image and branding, apart from the sponsorship aspects. Taking into account sponsor and contractor feedback, new staging equipment was fabricated and the branding application fine-tuned to upgrade the race to a higher plane and in line with the declared mission of the Chairman, which is to make the Jelajah Malaysia series the best Category 2.2 race in the world.
In a show of courage and farsightedness, Electcoms Berhad stepped in to become the title sponsor for 2008. Happily, the race managed to retain all of its previous official sponsors, including RTM, Nestle Products Sdn Bhd (Milo), Permanis Sdn. Bhd. (Bleu & Revive) and Champion System, and even managed to bring in Tourism Malaysia for the 2008 edition. Without their commitment and support, it would have been impossible for the Jelajah Malaysia to be what it is today, and they stand as fine examples of what the private sector can do for local sports development.
By the time 2007 drew to a close and 2008 dawned, all systems were good to go and everyone was geared up to make it the best ever Jelajah Malaysia.
