Retired soldier-cum-imam begins 500km Merdeka run

ALOR STAR: Retired soldier, Nasir Abas begins his 500km "Merdeka Run" from the Zahir Mosque here today, to the Dataran Merdeka in Kuala Lumpur in conjunction with the 59th Merdeka celebrations.
The run is aimed at instilling the spirit of patriotism among youths who seemed to forget the true meaning of independence, says Nasir, 61, of Taman Sri Putra, Kuala Kedah.
"The run is targeted to be completed within 10 days and I will be accompanied by two safety cars," he told Bernama here.
An imam at the Putra Mosque in Kuala Kedah, Nasir retired from the military in 1998 after serving for 21 years.
He said the love for the country became one of the driving forces to engage in the solo run which was flagged off at 7.30am, by Kuala Kedah Umno vice-chief, Datuk Abdul Mutalib Harun.
Nasir was listed in the Malaysia Book Of Records for two consecutive years, beginning 2002, after he ran 1,754km in 30 days across the peninsula from Kelantan to Perlis.
In 2003, he etched another record after running 2,068km from Tawau to Kuching in 53 days.
He had also run about 500km from the Shah Alam Stadium in Selangor to the Darul Aman Stadium here to celebrate Kedah's appearance in the Malaysia Cup final in December last year. — Bernama