Malacca Strait Swim Press

TAKING THE PLUNGE - MALACCA STRAIT SWIM
Swee Chiow's next adventure - learning to swim!

Though he grew up in Port Dickson, Swee Chiow was never a competent swimmer. So this challenge requires him to transform quickly from a mountaineer to a swimmer in a short period of time.

He had to learn the technique of swimming freestyle. When he started training in June 2004 under ex-national swimmer David Lim's coaching, he could hardly complete one lap (50m) of freestyle.

For this challenge, Swee Chiow started training in June 2004. As part of the

training, he became the first person to swim across the Singapore Strait on 18th Sep 2004 from Batam to Singapore.

He completed the 19-km swim in 8 hours. On 20th November, Swee Chiow did a 500-lap (25km) training swim at Serangoon Garden Country Club, a supporter of this challenge. He completed it in 11 hours and 19 minutes.

What are the obstacles he will face? Well, there is the Sumatran Squall that brings heavy rain, strong wind and waves, the ocean current, the cold at night and the jellyfish.

Using the rules of the famous English Channel Swim, at all times during the swim, he is not allowed any physical contact with any part of the support vessel or any human on board.

The swim will happen on 4th Dec 2004, Saturday, starting at around noon and would take estimated 20 to 24 hours to complete. The starting point is Tanjong Medang in Sumatra and finish point is Cape Rachardo in Port Dickson, Malaysia.

A fishing boat will accompany Swee Chiow. Two experienced kayakers, Chan Tau Chou and Cher Huey will also guide him. They will also be feeding him every 20 minutes with isotonic drinks and bananas. Tang Tuan Huat, who navigated during the Singapore Strait Swim, will be at the helm of the boat again to ensure a safe crossing of the shipping channel. Hanifa (also the WebMaster) and Eileena (to give Swee Chiow a sorely-needed massage after the swim) will be the land support team.

The Malacca Strait was swum for the first time in 1970 by a Japanese swimmer. In 1992, a group of Malaysians and Indonesians did a relay swim. Hence, Swee Chiow hopes to be the 2nd person in the world and the 1st South East Asian to swim the Malacca Strait.

This swim is special to Swee Chiow in another way. He was born and grew up in Port Dickson. Now, he is returning to his hometown to attempt a significant feat.

Of this challenge, Swee Chiow said :"If you dare not lose sight of the present shore, you will never find new land."

The two major sponsors for this expedition are Harvey Norman and Kiehl's. The supporting sponsors are TYR and Serangoon Garden Country Club. Swee Chiow would also like to thank ex-national swimmer, David Lim, for teaching him how to swim!

Swee Chiow is grateful for the support from his sponsors. He said: "Corporate sponsors continue to play a major role in my expeditions. I am very thankful to Harvey Norman and Kiehl's for believing in me."

Unlike mountaineering, this time, Wee Leng, Sheng Feng and friends will be waiting at the finish line! That's a big morale booster for Swee Chiow.

He also hopes that this project can be a demonstration of close ties between the 3 countries - Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore. Permission has been granted by authorities in Malaysia and Indonesia.