This 'Crazy Iron Man' Pastor Is Pulling A 65KG Rickshaw From Penang To KL For Charity
The pastor will complete the 400km journey in nine days.
A Pastor from Penang has begun his nine-day journey of pulling a rickshaw today to raise RM1 million
Dubbed as the 'Crazy Iron Man', pastor Cheah Chee Moon will be pulling a rickshaw with the net weight of 65kg to a welfare center at Jalan Hujan Emas, Kuala Lumpur, as reported by Bernama.
The pastor embarked on his 400km journey, known as the Journey of Love, together with six cyclists and five trishaw drivers until the Penang jetty where he will continue to journey solo, arriving on 7 July.
The event took place at Kompleks Masyarakat Penyayang, Jalan Utama where Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow initiated the flag off.
Cheah's biggest motivation to push himself for the 800,000 step journey is that it is all for a good cause
According to FMT, Cheah foresees that he will face challenging weather conditions and the challenge of maintaining his mentality and stamina throughout the journey.
“By noon, the temperature can go up to 42 degrees, and under the shade, it can drop to about 36 degrees,” the pastor said as quoted by Bernama.
During his preparation for the long journey, Cheah said he exercised regularly and followed a diet plan.
This isn't the first time the 60-year-old pulled a rickshaw for a charity event
“I have done similar charity events in other countries such as Cambodia, Vietnam and Indonesia,” the pastor said according to Bernama.
Last year, Cheah journeyed for 75 days pulling a rickshaw for over 3,000km from Johor Bahru to Chiang Rai, raising funds for five charity homes in two countries.
The pastor also added that he plans to do another journey of over 1,800km from Kuching to Kota Kinabalu later this year.
On 16 May, the government kickstarted the charity event by donating RM10,000 into the fund
According to Bernama, Chief Minister Chow announced in his opening speech today that the government would donate an additional RM10,000.
“The rickshaw weighs 60 kilograms. I tried (pulling it) and it is not easy for such a long distance but pulling rickshaws is nothing new to Cheah," said Chow as reported by NST Online.
“We hope he is given the strength for his long journey and hopefully, the weather is good,” the chief minister added.
The funds raised will be donated equally to two welfare homes, Eden Handicap Service Centre Berhad in Penang and Dual Blessings Berhad in Kuala Lumpur.
If you would like to contribute to the charity event, here are the details:
Via cheque or online banking: Eden Handicap Service Centre Berhad
Bank: CIMB Bank
Bank account number: 8003857542
If issuing a cheque, write 'Rickshaw' at the back of the cheque.
If banking online, type 'Rickshaw' as the reason for donating.
The charity event lasts from 1 May until 1 August.