Cops ride horses for a fit nation
GEORGE TOWN: Heads turned when 14 policemen on horseback went by to deliver a message on fitness.
The Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM) mounted policemen with “riding for health” emblazoned on the back of their shirts certainly impressed the public during their 15km tour around George Town.
The event involving the horse-riding policemen who are based in Cheras in Kuala Lumpur, was held in conjunction with Hari Sukan Negara. It started at the Esplanade and ended at Taman Rekreasi Kuari in Penang Botanic Gardens.
They set off from Esplanade at 7.45am, passing various landmarks in the inner city, and stopped at Lahat Road, near the racecourse, before ending their ride at Botanic Gardens two hours later.
A 2.4km marathon with more than 1,000 participants and a cycling programme was also held as part of the police force’s Hari Sukan Negara celebrations in Penang.
The series of activities by the men in blue culminated in Taman Rekreasi Kuari, where more activities including aerobics awaited.
More then 100 policemen on superbikes had also converged at the venue when the mounted policemen, runners and cyclists arrived.
At about 10am, four police Special Operations Command men abseiled from a helicopter onto the clearing at Taman Kuari to deliver a chest to Bukit Aman management department director Comm Datuk Seri Zulkifli Abdullah who was on the stage.
The chest contained Zulkifli’s speech that stressed on exercise and health.
He said the programme was to increase awareness on the importance of exercising and health. “We encourage policemen to work hard on being fit, which would help to portray a better image of the PDRM.
“We are confident that 90% of the policemen will pass the Trim and Fit project which will begin on Jan 1, 2018.
“In the beginning, we saw close to 10,000 obese policemen. The total has decreased now.
“We will start recording the data on the overweight policemen next year and we hope that they can start now and step up their effort now,” he said yesterday.
Also present were Penang police chief Comm Datuk Abdul Ghafar Rajab and Penang deputy police chief Deputy Comm Datuk Roslee Chik.
Meanwhile, a Penang Bridge Challenge held in conjunction with the Hari Sukan Negara attracted thousands of participants who converged at the Sultan Abdul Halim Mu’adzam Shah Bridge for a 7km fun run, 21km half marathon and cycling.