A Malaysian is on his way to set a new Guinness World Record for the longest reverse driving from Johor Bahru to Alor Star within six days.
Rajagopal Kawendar, 56, is using only the two side mirrors and the centre mirror of his car to identify directions in his 1010km reverse journey.
Since departing from Johor Bahru on October 10, the part-time motivator had successfully completed half of the journey.
He arrived at Kajang yesterday and is eager to complete the drive earlier than originally expected.
Speaking at a press conference at Menara Manickavasagam today, Rajagopal said he enjoys the journey very much.
(from left) Rajagopal and MIC youth chief T.Mohan
His car is moving at 60km/h to 80km/h and is accompanied by a technical support team and traffic policemen.
“It is like normal driving for me, I don’t have any difficulty driving reversely,” the skilled driver said.
He hopes that this attempt can motivate the rest of Malaysia, especially the young, to pursuit greater heights.
“If a 56-year-old man like me can do it, why not you?” he said.
Idea conceived when helping a motorist
This is also an attempt from Rajagopal to break his own record of 88km of reverse driving, which has been listed in Malaysia Book of Records.
He said should the attempt this time be listed in Guinness World Record, he will dedicate the feat to the nation.
When asked how the idea of reverse driving was conceived, he said that struck him while he was helping a fellow motorist whose car was running low on fuel on the North-South Expressway.
After predicting that the fuel in the car would not be sufficient to reach the next petrol station, he drove in reverse for 17 km in order to reach the nearest petrol bunk.
“The car owner praised me for my skill and suggested me to do something about it,” he said.
He also thanked MIC, Oliver Putra Motorsport JB and fellow Malaysians who are giving full support for his attempt.
MIC president Samy Vellu meanwhile flagged Rajagopal’s departure from KL to Alor Setar.
Rajagopal is scheduled to reach Alor Star on October 15 and the closing ceremony will be held at Megamall Butterworth at 5pm that day.
CJMY
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