EVEREST BASE CAMP CLIMB ON MALAYSIA DAY
Lecturers, students to plant Jalur Gemilang at Everest base camp
ANINE-MEMBER team will try to plant the Jalur Gemilang at the Mount Everest base camp to mark Malaysia Day. Led by Tun Hussein Onn University lecturer Dr Nur Kamilah Yusuf, they will start their expedition on Sept 6.
Their target is to reach the 5,637m-high base camp by Sept 16.
Education Minister Dr Maszlee Malik, who flagged them off at the ministry here yesterday, said he was pleased that the team of seven students and two lecturers represented Malaysia’s racial diversity.
“I hope programmes such as this will be the catalyst for the birth of a Malaysian society that is united, respectful and tolerant of each other,” he said.
After planting the Jalur Gemilang at the base camp, the team is expected to come down from the mountain by Sept 22.
Maszlee said the expedition was to develop university and college students’ potential, especially in extreme events.
“This is in line with the efforts and aims of the Education Ministry to realise a Malaysian education system that is holistic, progressive, moral and worldclass,” he said.
Maszlee had the crowd in stitches when he quoted Jedi Master Yoda of the Star Wars franchise: “Do. Or do not. There is no try.”
He elicited more chuckles when he asked the team to watch the 1994 film, Forrest Gump, to strengthen their spirits prior to the expedition.
Maszlee urged companies, including airlines, to assist the expedition, which needed RM100,000 in sponsorship.
Nur Kamilah, 30, expressed confidence in the team’s ability to face any challenges on the expedition.
She said the team had undergone training by climbing mountains in Malaysia and Indonesia to toughen them for temperature fluctuations on Everest.
“It is forecast that Mount Everest’s temperature will be between 15°C and 20°C in the day and -10°C at night.
“Climbers have been exposed to 0°C during training.”
Present was Education Ministry secretary-general Datuk Dr Mohd Gazali Abas.