The following is an extract from Channel NewsAsia phone interview with TSM’s Dr Tan Poh Heng.
(To further strengthen the economic ties and social bonds between China and the Asean countries.)
2) Why did you choose to take part?
(Partly because my friend Mr Leslie Chang, who is also the chef de mission for the Singapore team, took part in the 2006 event and introduced me to such an event. What he encountered last year was well documented and this stimulated my interest in it. Also I felt that this was going to be an experience that may not come true for many in their life time. A lot of people can’t even imagine themselves traveling to Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam let alone driving there.)
3) Were there any memorable events (good and bad)?
(**On the very first day, the Rally bus in the main convoy broke down during lunch at Malacca.
This delayed our journey by more than 2 hours and we ended up driving to our first destination Ipoh in the night and compounded by pelting rain. Add on to that, our group had to babysit a ‘lost sheep’ from another group because the Chinese driver had problems with the road signs.
**The rocky roads of Cambodia were the most difficult sector of the rally.
Fortunately, the cooperation of the 5 cars in our group made the drive less treacherous and uncomfortable.
The care and concern of the Chinese driver in the lead car of our group will always be fondly remembered by us.
**Our young ambassador, Bingo who is also Leslie’s son, entertained everyone with his magic tricks throughout the trip. This was especially apparent at the Thai immigration while we were waiting for clearance. A large crowd that included immigration officers, China media people, participants of CAITA and even the street urchins gathered round to watch his performance. The end result was everyone was very impressed with his as well as the whole Singapore team’s performance.)
4) What were some of the difficulties you encountered?
(Besides some difficult roads, the main difficulties encountered were at the Thai and Vietnamese immigration points.
At the Thai side, we were hampered by the poor paper work of the Thai guides in filling up the immigration forms of the entry permit of the cars.
At the Vietnamese immigration, we were held back by their refusal to let right-hand drive cars into the country.
This was despite the relevant authorities ensuring us that all has been arranged.
Ultimately, we were allowed in by the so called ‘5.30pm rule’ – ie time to go home for the staff.
The reason for the delay is something that I feel our MFA should be interested to find out.)
5) Were there any lessons learnt from the experience?
(Trips like this is definitely a good way of cultural exchange amongst the various countries. You get to see and experience a lot more of a country driving through it. We’ve also learnt that we still have some way to go before seamless travel amongst the Asean countries can be realized.
(Having foreign embassies is good but may not always be useful!) )
6) Is there going to be another car rally in the near future? If so, when?
(This is an annual event and it is usually held in the month of October in line with the China-Asean Summit. In fact, it is a fringe event of that summit together with other China-Asean events like China-Asean Expo etc.)
7) How can one participate, or is it for exclusive circles of society?
(The event is organized by the state government of Guangxi Province with support from General Administration of Sport of China - China’s equivalent of our MCYS and Federation of Automobile Sports, China. Participation is through invitation by the organizing committee. This is usually extended to the governing bodies of motorsports of the various countries.)
