Scout Car Idea Turned Tourist Attraction

Our lose, somebody else's gain. The stalled Scout Car Grand Prix (can't even recall when was the last one) could very well have made the same headlines like this article here but like always, many lacked the foresight to see its potential.

Club to introduce new sport to M'sians

IN conjunction with Visit Malaysia 2007, the Penang Turf Club (PTC) will be introducing pedal car racing in Malaysia and the inaugural event is set to take place in Penang on August 19.

Themed 1st Malaysian Pedal Car Race, the PTC hopes that the introduction of this environmental-friendly sport will instil in Malaysians, especially schoolchildren, love and concern for the environment. [...]

For this inaugural event, the PTC has commissioned a local engineer to build 12 professional cars based on British specifications.

The PTC Penang Pedal Car Race 2007 is an eight-lap relay team competition with 10 cars on the grid and two cars acting as back-up in the event of an accident.

Each team will have four crew members and each member will have to pedal for two laps.

Each lap will cover about 1.1km and the route of the competition will see participants passing by several landmarks in Penang like St George’s Church, Fort Cornwallis and the Jubilee Clock Tower at the Downing Street/Light Street roundabout, the Esplanade, King Edward Place and Beach Street. The race will start and end at the state legislative assembly building in Light Street.

A pole position in the Penang Pedal Car Race 2007 is vital and in this case, each rider will have to do battle in the practice session before the main race to secure a good position. [...]

Those who saw its potential were labeled ludicrous and the idea outlandish by the very people who were too lazy and nonchalant to entertain the idea. Our scouts today has become complacent and contented with whatever small 'achievements' and 'standards' they've achieved. Hardly anymore breaking down barriers, reaching new highs, challenging greater obstacles. Always seeking the easy way out. That's the problem with our scouts today. They've become accommodative to mistakes and weaknesses. They've become receptive to mediocrity. They've become the pansies Red Crescent Society.

It could have been a cash cow and good PR exercise for the three scouting groups of PFS but now it will end up as somebody else's. At the very least, we all know the Scout Car Grand Prix existed way before the "1st Malaysian Pedal Car Race". Working race cars built by boy scouts, not engineers and we have pictures as documentation. That they can't take away from us.