MAC SI MAN
Posts: 2
Joined: 5/13/2004
From: Kuala Lumpur, MALAYSIA
Status: offline
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I read with interest the comments made on this forum. I feel it is necessary to provide a response from the organizer in order to clarify our position with regards to the MACII event.
Firstly I would like to address the issue of boycotting this event. I have this to say to all those who chose not to attend for personal or political reasons.
The very fact that a decision was made by some persons to boycott MACII is both highly disappointing and foolish in the extreme. I have read the paragraphs written in this forum and wonder if those who wrote them are truly able to appreciate the situation that Malaysia now experiences with regards to aeromodelling. Whilst our neighbors in Singapore and Thailand have excelled in their efforts to provide both the facilities and the infrastructure for the modeling community, we still persist with flying in a dirt building lot in the back of some non descript housing estate. There are no competitions there are no youth programs and there is at this time no viable plan I have seen to progress toward some form of organized community to direct the development of aeromodelling in this country. MAC II is an effort to bind the modeling community together and provide a point of focus by which further development can be encouraged. Those who boycotted this event for whatever pitiful excuse did so to the detriment of the hobby in this country and also to the future of MAC events. Perhaps this is what they want!
Secondly. There were statements about the way in which the venue was established. For the first time in Malaysia an aeromodelling event was conducted in an environment that could only be described as 5 star. Whilst the person who made comments about the state of the stalls and tents may think they provided relevant critical analysis of our efforts, he forgot to mention some other minor points. You overlooked the immaculate 200m grass airstrip, the washrooms and toilet facilities, ample shaded areas for spectators and participants, the variety of beverages and snacks, the BBQ dinner, the kids workshops and flight demos, the flight simulator and training school, free giveaways, the effort to try and get every body a chance to fly, the competitions and many many more details that seem to have been conveniently left out.
I may add to this my views on safety and your comments on children in the participants tent. Yes there were at some stages children in this area. Most of those present were from families of people who were participating or in supervised groups. I feel confident that the risk of accidents and avoiding them had been properly assessed in the lead up to MAC II. We sought advice from persons who have accumulated a long and in depth knowledge of running events such as this. The only accident that occurred during the weekend was when a boy tripped over and grazed his knees. He was attended to immediately by our on site ambulance team. Engine startups were conducted on the grass area in front of the tents. This then became the responsibility of the pilots and marshals to ensure that operations were being conducted properly.
At this point that I would like to take this opportunity in expressing my sincere thanks to the Marshalls who did a superb job in maintaining the flight line in a manner that was both cordial and efficient. There were no accidents and as far as I am concerned no reason to presume that safety was not an issue that we all took very seriously.
With regard to the comment made about control of participants and the touch and go comp I would like to say this. We feel, with no doubt in our minds, that an adequate distance was maintained at all times between the aircraft and spectators. As with any carnival of this type crashes are to be expected. You failed to comment on how much the crowd enjoyed this display, and how for the first time an aeromodeling competition became an entertaining spectator event. The one incident that did occur with frequency crossover was due to non adherence of the procedure of radio impound on the part of the pilot.
I would like to now comment on the paragraph about sucking up to the Minister. I think this comment deserves special attention because of its incredible banality and also as a response to the equally banal comments made by Malaysian Flyer with regard to “looking objectively” at MAC I and MAC II.
Firstly I would like to quote from a text message I received from a colleague of Datuk Azalina Othman, the minister of Youth And Sports, with regard to MACII.
The message contained the following sentence. “The Minister passed on compliments for our effort and said she really enjoyed herself”. This comment came after the Datuk personally thanked me before departure adding the words “I am very impressed”. On the strength of this further meetings are being arranged to discuss with the minister programs and projects.
It seems Malaysian Flyer boycotted our event and did not attend at any time, Therefore I cannot recommend to readers of his venomous and negative statements, that they waste time with rubbish hatched purely from hearsay. I would like also to add that comments you have been making have a destructive influence (as is most likely your intention). Evidently you recognize the damage you have inflicted on those of us who have tirelessly supported the development of Aeromodelling here in Malaysia. I think comments such as these are a disgrace and do nothing but add to the considerable negative influence you are exerting on the aeromodeling community as a whole. We look forward to the day when you have the grace to “look objectively” at the erring of your ways and begin to align yourself with positive development process rather than unpleasant and ill conceived statements that do nothing other than create ill feeling and frustration.
In closing I make the following statement. The visit of both Tun Dr Mahathir and Datuk Azalina Othman during MAC II was, in our view, a groundbreaking achievement. Both of our esteemed guests expressed their compliments and pleasure at attending the event. We now see this as a real and wholly viable window of opportunity to work on development of aeromodelling in Malaysia.
We would like to recognize that there were indeed areas of organizing that need to be perfected. We do appreciate and read with interest any comments and criticism made by participants or spectators with regard to improvements that could be made. We also hope that it may be possible to host further MAC events in the future and continue to try to work on bringing greater public awareness to this wonderful hobby. Like all things it will take time for MAC to grow and develop.
Finally I would like to pass on our sincere and heartfelt notes of thanks to all those who supported MACII. Your efforts and undivided enthusiasm at making this memorable weekend a success was in my mind a crowning achievement. There is only one score I give and that is 10/10 for a job well done.
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