MALAYSIA TO COMPETE IN WORLD JETSKI C'SHIPS IN US

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 20 (Bernama) -- After a 11-year hiatus, Malaysia will be
sending three jetski racers under the Jetrace 1Malaysia banner to compete in the
Quakysense World Championships in Lake Havasu City, Arizona, United States.

Team manager Raja Aris Dzulkifli said the Jetski Sports Club of Malaysia was
formed to enable the jetski racers to compete in the week-long championships
from Oct 3-10.

"We had qualified for the World Championships in 1999 but due to the
economic recession, we had to forego the opportunity. Since then, we had to wait
for almost 11 years to qualify again.

"We will make full use of the opportunity because qualifying for the
championships is extremely difficult since the sport is very popular in other
countries, compared with Malaysia," he told reporters here Friday.

Raja Aris said among Asean countries that provide stiff competition to
Malaysia are Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines because they too are
focused on turning the sport into an international event.

The three racers in the team, comprising Mohd Nur Azahari Ahmad Baddri, 28,
from X1 Jetracing Team, will compete in the Amateur Runabout 800 Open category,
Ahmad Dawi Alias, 45, from Club Terengganu Marina Racing Team (CTM Racing) will
compete in the Novice Runabout 1800 Stock category while the sole woman
participant Katherine Kong, 35, from LT-Kawasaki Racing Team will compete in the
Runabout 1800 Limited.

Raja Aris also hoped corporate sponsors would come forward to assist their
mission since the entire cost would be borne by the individuals.

"We hope the Ministry of Youth and Sports will also assist Jetski sport
because it has a vast potential to be turned into a commercial venture as
Malaysia is surrounded by beaches," he said.

Meanwhile, in the World Championships, 500 participants from 40 states in
United States and participants from 30 other countries would compete in the
eight categories hosted.
-- BERNAMA