Compiled by TARRENCE TAN, C. ARUNO and R. ARAVINTHAN

       A MOTORCYCLIST has earned the title of having an “iron butt” after he managed to complete a 1,600km solo trip ride across Peninsular Malaysia in less than 24 hours, Berita Harian reported.

       Mohd Shahrul Mohd Darus, 42, an operations assistant at SMK Bandar Behrang, rode a 400cc Modenas Dominar in the challenge titled “Iron Butt Malaysia”.

       He began his solo journey at 9.59pm last Friday at a Petronas station near Ampang and arrived at the same spot at 8.37pm on Saturday.

       He took the North-South expressway and arrived at the Simpang Pulai Petronas station in Perak at 12.02am.

       “From there, I continued my journey to Kedah through Penang before arriving at the Taman Ria petrol station in Sungai Petani at 2.22am.”

       From there, Mohd Shahrul said he rode his motorcycle to Gerik, Perak, and took a short break before heading towards the Titiwangsa range later.

       “I am grateful that many lorry drivers gave way to me as it was really dark during the early morning ride.”

       Mohd Shahrul said his journey down south took him along the East Coast expressway to Kuantan before heading towards Mersing, Johor, through Bandar Muadzam.

       He reached a petrol station near Air Keroh at 6.03pm on Saturday and continued towards Kuala Lumpur, and arrived at 8.37pm.

       He said he was grateful for completing the mission and wants to take on a bigger challenge next year, which is a 2,500km road trip in less than 36 hours.

       > A 72-year-old former journalist surprised many people after he began a 2,500km cycling trip across Peninsular Malaysia, Berita Harian reported.

       Che Saad Nordin said the journey was in conjunction with National Journalists Day 2022 (Hawana 2022) and Umno’s 76th anniversary.

       The former Bernama journalist said he would be accompanied by a friend, Muhammad Shahri Ridzuan Mansor, 36, and that the cycling trip is expected to be completed by July 7.

       Che Saad also shared that he had completed similar trips across Peninsular Malaysia 18 times.

       Separately, Muhammad Shahri said he was proud to be able to accompany Che Saad.

       “I hope youngsters will learn from Che Saad because he has a lot of stamina and is very motivated when he’s cycling,” he said.Pertubuhan Generasi Wira Tanah Melayu chairman Datuk Ku Ardanan Dollah said they have arranged a schedule for the two cyclists.

       “I will personally meet them at several locations. The last stop will be in Langkawi,” Ku Ardanan said.

       The above articles are compiled from the vernacular newspapers (Bahasa Malaysia, Chinese and Tamil dailies). As such, stories are grouped according to the respective language/medium. Where a paragraph begins with a >, it denotes a separate news item.