PETALING JAYA: Barring any last- minute changes, Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) president Tunku Tan Sri Imran Tuanku Ja’afar will be the first person to carry the Olympic torch in the Malaysian leg of the relay kicking off at Dataran Merdeka this afternoon.
And the man whom Imran replaced as OCM president, Tan Sri Hamzah Abu Samah, will be the second person to carry the torch.
Onward march: Jiang Xiaoyu, the executive vice president of the Beijing Olympic Games organising committee, leaving the plane with the Olympic flame on his arrival at the KLIA early yesterday morning. Hamzah, a former Sports Minister, was the OCM president from 1976 until 1998.
OCM secretary Datuk Sieh Kok Chi, who disclosed this yesterday, said the relay would start with a short opening ceremony at Dataran Merdeka at 2pm today.
The torch will then be passed to the torchbearers along Jalan Raja before heading towards Jalan Tun Perak.
It will make its way through the streets of Kuala Lumpur, passing landmarks like Parliament, the old Railway Station, National Mosque and Merdeka Stadium.
“The torch will be taken up to the top of Kuala Lumpur Tower before ending at the Esplanade at the Kuala Lumpur City Centre. We are expecting the whole event to be over before 7pm.
“The police will be responsible for the security arrangements for the whole process,” said Kok Chi.
The Olympic flame, housed in a special container, arrived on a special plane early yesterday morning from Bangkok.
On hand to receive the delegation led by Beijing Olympic Games organising committee (Bogoc) executive vice president Jiang Xiaoyu was OCM deputy president Datuk Dr M. Jegathesan, Kok Chi and China’s Ambassador to Malaysia Cheng Yonghua.
Current top and former athletes are among the 80 torchbearers participating in the relay, which is stopping in Malaysia again after 44 years.
Malaysia last hosted a leg of the Olympic torch relay when Japan became the first Asian country to host the biggest sporting event in the world in 1964.
All the Malaysian medal winners at the Olympics so far will be honoured as torchbearers today.
They are the former men’s doubles pair of Cheah Soon Kit-Yap Kim Hock who claimed silver in the Atlanta Games in 1996 and the Sidek brothers – Razif, Jalani and Rashid.
Razif-Jalani bagged a bronze when badminton made its debut in Barcelona in 1992 while Rashid was the singles bronze medallist in 1996.
Other notable athletes involved are current women’s world number one squash player Nicol David, diver Bryan Nickson Lomas, bowler Shalin Zulkifli, former swimmers Lim Keng Liat and Nurul Huda Abdullah, footballer Datuk Soh Chin Ann and hurdler Marina Chin.
Dr Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor, Malaysia’s first Angkasawan, will also be one of the torch runners.
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