Malaysia Star, Malaysia
By CHRISTINA LOW
MORE than 1,200 participants took part in this year’s Batik Fun Walk, all in their best outfits, although many said they only knew about the event at the eleventh hour.
“It was a last-minute decision for my family after reading about the walk in the newspapers.
“Considering we did not have much time left to buy or sew batik clothes, my daughters had to use their baju raya which was, coincidentally, of batik design,” said Halim Idris, 40, who came with his wife and four children.
Razlina Abdul Razak and Efny Johan, on the other hand, said they had come to an agreement to paint their plain white T-shirts with words that read “We Will Walk for Cancer” after reading about the meaningful event in the newspapers.
“We read that the entry fees collected would go to a charity, so we thought, why waste our Sunday doing nothing,” said Razlina, 25, whose elder sister and three friends came along as well.
Crowd favourite Jenny Lee, who came dressed from top to toe in batik as well as self-designed batik baskets and bags hung over her shoulders, was a centre of attraction.
Lee, who had not missed the run since it started in 2003, said she was tied up with other events over the past few weeks and had only very little time to prepare for yesterday’s event.
“I have not slept properly for the past three nights just so I could finishing sewing my designs and be ready for the walk,” said Lee, who hand sewed all the materials used.
The 53-year-old tuition teacher said she would never miss any events like these as she thoroughly enjoys dressing up.
“I don’t spend much on my designs and they are all very light, making it easy for me to walk or run in it,” said Lee, who was awarded a Special Prize for her yearly participation.
The family event was flagged off by Angkasawan Datuk Dr Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor at the main entrance of the 1 Utama Shopping Centre yesterday.
Participants had to walk a designated 4.5km route down Lebuh Bandar Utama, Jalan Masjid, Persiaran Bandar Utama and Dataran Bandar Utama.
This was also the first time that the organisers had decided to bring the event out of the Kuala Lumpur city centre.
“The venue was changed to bring it closer to local communities and to allow those in the suburbs to be able to participate
“Looking at the turnout today, I am really glad to see more faces compared to last year,” Yayasan Budi Penyayang Malaysia (Penyayang) chairman Nori Abdullah said.
She said the participants were also contributing to a good cause as proceeds from the walk would be channelled to Penyayang Pesakit Kanser, a group that serves cancer patients.
The annual event in its sixth year is listed on the calendar of Malaysia Batik – Crafted for the World, a movement started by Datin Seri Endon Mahmood, the late wife of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.
The Star is the media partner for Batik Fun Walk.
