A sport right up our alley
> Malaysia would be a sure-fire champion if ever snatching car parking space becomes a SEA Games event
GO FOR gold! That’s the mantra of our athletes at this year’s Southeast Asian (SEA) Games from Aug 19 to 30 in Kuala Lumpur.
This will be the second time this century that Malaysia plays host to the SEA Games.
The first time was in 2001, when we emerged champions with 111 gold, 75 silver, and 85 bronze medals.
We even got a public holiday in the process!
Can we do better this time? If we do, a holiday may be declared for Sept 1 since the following day, Aug 31, is already a public holiday as it is Merdeka Day.
Of course, except for that time in 2001, and 2007 when Malaysia came in second place, we have never reached the top three of the medal tally.
In addition, I can’t say for sure which sport we stand a chance of winning, because the fancy official website for the event doesn’t appear to have any of them listed!
I may be wrong. Visit www. kualalumpur2017.com.my yourself, and be the judge.
Other sources have told me that there are 405 events from 38 sporting events.
If there is badminton, we should rake in some gold medals. However, this year, we won’t have our ‘sure winner’ Datuk Lee Chong Wei swinging his racket.
It’s both a good and bad thing. Bad, because we can’t be sure of a medal from badminton when he is not playing.
Good, because it puts pressure on the other players. Or else we will always be dependent on one player, who may not always be a winner.
As for other sport, I’m not so sure. Perhaps we stand a chance of getting a haul from swimming, diving, archery, athletics, and bowling.
But there’s a sure thing to rake in the medals – if only the organisers add in this completely event: snatching car parking spaces in a car park!
If this event were ever to be listed and held, I am willing to bet my last ringgit that Malaysia will haul in gold medals from all possible categories. And why am I so sure? Have you noticed of late that Malaysian motorists have become very adept at rushing through underground car parks in shopping malls at breakneck speeds, breaking all the rules just to secure a parking spot?
Since we missed out on making our mark in Formula One, back when Alex Yoong first competed in 1999, maybe this ‘finding a car park space’ event should do the trick.
The other day, someone vented on Facebook of observing a man standing in a car park spot, pretending to have a conversation with someone on his smartphone.
When other motorists enquired about the empty spot, he shooed them away.
One woman driver didn’t take that too kindly and decided to stake out the man to see who he was waiting for.
Eventually, another woman driver showed up to take the spot.
The first female driver decided to confront the second woman as to why she had resorted to such an act.
Her answer? “I am a Datin!”
Jeff Yong, after making his mark in the twisty maze of mainstream journalism, has finally decided to enjoy what he does best – observing the unusual and recounting the gleeful. He can be contacted at lifestyle.borak@ gmail.com.