One-legged man planning to climb Malaysia’s highest mountain
By ANITuesday, March 16, 2010
KUALA LUMPUR - Reports indicate that a one-legged man called Junaidi Fauzan is planning to scale the highest mountain in Malaysia, Mount Kinabalu, in Sabah this year, after completing a kayak trip.
According to a report in The Star, the 58-year-old Fauzan wants to do this after he completes his kayak trip from here to Kota Kinabalu.
“I plan to kayak from the western tip of Sarawak, Tanjung Datu, to Kota Kinabalu in July. So, I thought while I’m in Kota Kinabalu, I might as well climb Mount Kinabalu,” he said.
“I’ve sent a proposal to Pantai Damai assemblyman Dr Abdul Rahman Junaidi to help me seek approval from the authorities. I hope everything will go well,” he told The Star.
Junaidi lost his left leg in a road accident in March 2001.
After wallowing in self-pity for several years, he regained control of his life in 2006 and started swimming rigorously to get back in shape.
“I was a regular blood donor but after the accident, my blood flow was imbalanced and I could not donate blood. So, I started to exercise more regularly, especially swimming,” he said.
In 2006, Junaidi made his debut in the Malaysian Paralympics and won a gold medal in the 800m freestyle swimming event and two silvers, in the 1,500m and 400m freestyle events.
The year after that, he swam from Pulau Satang Besar to Damai Beach, some 15 nautical miles, and in 2008, from Pulau Satang Besar to Kampung Santubong, some 19 nautical miles.
Last year, he travelled all the way from Miri to Kuching in his wheelchair, a feat that he hoped would be entered into the Sarawak Book of Records.
Junaidi said that he climbed the 810m-high Mount Santubong in his younger days and it would be his first attempt to conquer Mount Kinabalu, which stands at about 4,096m.
“I believe I can do it. I was told that Mount Kinabalu has steps and proper trails unlike Mount SantuÂbong where it can be very steep at times,” he said. (ANI)
