Gen.2 Jejak Merdeka Treasure Hunt Aiming to Set World Record
Gen.2 Jejak Merdeka Aiming to set World Record.
Subang Jaya, Merdeka Day, 31 August 2005 – The Gen.2 Jejak Merdeka Treasure hunt kicked off this morning in conjunction with the Merdeka Celebrations with more than 600 Proton Gen.2’s taking part. This may be history in the making; it is certainly a Malaysian record for the biggest treasure hunt involving one single make and model of car ever, and it may well be a world record as well.
The Gen.2 Jejak Merdeka Treasure Hunt kicked off this morning at 0730 hours with four legs starting simultaneously from four cities, coming together for a grand finish at the First World Hotel in Genting Highlands.
The Gen.2 Jejak Merdeka Treasure Hunt is an initiative of the Customer Acquisition and Retention division of Proton Edar, and is supported by Eon, to celebrate Merdeka with its friends and Gen.2 owners. The brainchild of Mr. Tan Ghee Cheow, Head of Customer Acquisition and Retention (CARE), the event could become an annual affair if customer feedback is positive. The entire event was co-ordinated by Mr. Kugan Vyravanathan, Head of Events and Promotion, assisted by his capable Events & Promotions executives stationed at the Proton Edar head office and at the regional offices in the respective regions.
The Northern leg started from the Gurney Hotel, Penang, situated along the famous Gurney Drive, with a special police escort to see them safely over the Penang bridge, and the actual hunting for the treasures and clues began on the mainland. The Gen.2’s participating in this leg covered approximately 350 kilometres to the final destination.
The Eastern leg began in the heart of Kuantan, from the MS Garden hotel in Jalan Beserah, and covered approximately 250 kilometres.
Meanwhile, the Southern leg started in the historical city of Melaka, right next to where Admiral Cheng Ho must have moored his mighty ship many centuries ago when he first set foot on the then Malay Peninsula. The southern leg covered approximately 200 kilometres in total.
Close to 50 percent of the competitors took part in the central leg which started from the new Proton Edar headquarters in Subang Jaya.
The starts at each location were grand affairs with plenty of noise and colour, as the carnival-like atmosphere infected everybody; horns were sounded in celebration as the happy Gen.2 owners took to the road in search of fun and sun.
An observer remarked,”I have never seen such a grand spectacle, and just look at the faces of the participants; they are all smiling and laughing.”
Each individual leg has its own set of prizes for the winners, and all cars taking part in the event were given petrol vouchers sponsered by Petronas. In addition to the treasure hunt prizes, the competitors, by virtue of their participation in the event, could win one of five units of Gen.2’s.
