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Malaysian Consul General
Hidayat Abdul Hamid flags off Haji Mohamed Assir on his onward journey
to Africa at his
country’s consulate general in Jeddah on Saturday. Two of the three
Jeddah riders who accompanied Assir up to
Yanbu look on.
(Photo: Arab News)
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Jeddah:
They were 11 in number and they traversed 11 countries, starting
from Kuala Lumpur to reach Jeddah on motorcycles.
Their mission was to perform Umrah and visit the Prophet’s Mosque in
Madinah. They accomplished the mission in 45 days, traveling 17,800
km.
A four-wheel support vehicle with four
people followed them throughout the journey described by the
expedition leader Haji Mohamed Assir as “most satisfying and
fulfilling.”
The expedition, flagged off in Kuala Lumpur on May 15 by Malaysian
Prime Minister Najib Razak, was received in Jeddah by Malaysian
Consul General Hidayat Abdul Hamid at his country’s consulate in
Jeddah on June 28.
A beaming Hamid said the journey has made the Malaysians proud as it
is the first ever expedition from Southeast Asia to Saudi Arabia on
motorcycle to perform Umrah. He said the bikers were inspired by
early Arabian travelers who traversed the Silk Road from the Middle
East to Asia. Apart from performing Umrah, the purpose of the
expedition was to promote friendship and foster goodwill with the
people of the countries along the route.
Assir, the expedition leader, is a professional biker associated
with Israq Adventure, a riders’ club in Malaysia. Assir has ridden
through more than 70 countries. But most of his team members on this
spiritual journey were new to long-haul motorbiking, including a
Malaysian MP and a religious scholar.
To reach Saudi Arabia, the Malaysian bikers passed through Thailand,
Laos, China, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Iran, Turkey,
Syria and Jordan. Assir said his team made it a point to pray at
local mosques along the way.
“At many places people cried when we told them that we were on way
to perform Umrah,” he told Arab News. “I have no words to describe
the feelings that we had after performing the Umrah. Every one of us
was so relaxed and so spiritually charged that we did not want to
think of any worldly thing.”
While other members of the expedition
are flying back to Malaysia this week, Assir is continuing his
journey toward Africa and Europe.
“I want to explore North Africa
through the coastal route. I will be riding 10,000 km for one more
month. From Africa I will enter Spain and ride through other
countries in central Europe,” he said. While in Jeddah, Assir met
with local riders and invited them to come to Malaysia and explore
it. He said the locals were excited and curious to know more about
his expeditions.
On Saturday, the three Jeddah bikers joined Assir when he started
his onward journey from the Malaysian Consulate. They accompanied
him up to Yanbu. He said five to six riders from Jeddah will visit
Malaysia in the near future. “First they will ride with us within
Malaysia. Once they are trained enough they may join us in our
cross-country expeditions,” he said.
(Courtesy: Arab
News)
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