2nd job as tourist guide - Sultan of Selangor Cup bus transfer job

Today mark the second time I worked as tourist guide. Again, it is a transfer job offered by my tourist guide association. It is a two days transfer job because it spans across the next day, expected to arrive back to Malaysia Second Link Custom – Sultan Abu Bakar Complex at 6am. Total of 28 tourist guide for 28 travel bus are involved in these transfer, ferrying Singapore football fans to Selangor Shah Alam stadium for Sultan of Selangor Cup football match.

Sultan of Selangor Cup football match was initiated in 2001 to foster better relations between Selangor and Singapore. It was known as the Regent of Selangor Cup. With the coronation of the Selangor Sultan in 2003, the competition was renamed the Sultan of Selangor Cup. Sultan of Selangor Cup is organized annually.

Shah Alam stadium

I reached the Malaysia Second Link Custom – Sultan Abu Bakar Complex at 7.30am as scheduled. When the entire tourist guide gathered at 8.15am, we listen to briefing of the itinerary and things needed to take note for about 30 minutes and collected bus number tagging respectively.

Anjung Nusajaya

The Singapore fans group gradually reached Malaysia Second Link Custom – Sultan Abu Bakar Complex started 9.30am. My group reached there at 10.15am and it takes roughly 30 minutes for all members to clear the customs procedure. The bus is a single storey bus with 44 seats. This time there are tour leader within the group. After headcount which is done by tour leader, we set off to Anjung, the food court at Nusajaya for breakfast. It takes 15 minutes at 11am to reach Anjung Nusajaya. The stopover here is 1 hour. This time round, I am able to make announcement in the bus smoothly without any nervous.  

Anjung Nusajaya

We set off to Selangor at 12pm. We have 1 stopover at Ayer Keroh RnR (Rest and Repair) for prayer (sembahyang) at 3pm. We reached KL at 5pm. Based on our itinerary; all buses will meet at Sunway Lagoon Resort before set off to Shah Alam stadium and escort by escort police to escort us to Shah Alam stadium. Due to unfamiliar road directory to the Sunway Lagoon Resort, we speed extra 1 hour on the road. When we reached opposite of the busses troop at Sunway Lagoon Resort, there is congestion in front to make a U turn. Bus driver intends to avoid the congestion by drive another uncongested road to make the U turn. Unfortunately another U turn road is limited to 3 meter height and bus height is 3.8 meter. We drive further and make U turn after the toll plaza. After the U turn, we drove back toward the direction and again took the wrong path. Finally we are on track and reached Sunway Lagoon Resort at 6.30pm, all the 27 buses already escorted by escort police left to and reach Shah Alam stadium.  We reached there at 7pm.

On the way to Shah Alam stadium, we are informed that Sultan of Selangor Cup was cancelled due to the haze hazard and concern of Sultan Selangor Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah for the health of the players and public.

Abdul Karim, organising chairman of Sultan of Selangor Cup said the organising committee was working with the Selangor Health Department in monitoring the air quality and the decision to call off the match was made after the Air Pollutant Index API recorded an unhealthy level of 138 at 5pm with showed no sign of improvement.

Shah Alam stadium

Malaysia has been affected by severe smoke haze due to forest fires in Indonesia yearly, especially on the Indonesian islands of Sumatra and Kalimantan. This is due to the common practice of open burning to clear land for agricultural uses. It can be made worse by dry seasons, changes in wind direction and poor precipitation. Prevailing winds sometimes carry smoke haze produced by the forest fires over Malaysia’s skies. This is especially so during the Southwest Monsoon Season.

This year 2015, the haze hazard affecting several countries in Southeast Asia, including Brunei, Indonesia (especially its islands of Sumatra and Kalimantan), Malaysia, Singapore, Southern Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia and the Philippines.

The fires are caused by firms and farmers who engage in illegal slash-and-burn practices as a relatively inexpensive means of clearing land. Sumatra and Kalimantan possess large areas of peat land, which is highly combustible during dry season. Peat, which is made up of layers of dead vegetation and other organic matter, contributed heavily to carbon emissions because of the substance's density. The haze has been particularly severe in 2015 due to the El Niño phenomenon which has caused drier conditions, allowing the fires to spread more.

The Indonesian government has estimated that the haze crisis will cost it between 300 to 475 trillion rupiah (up to RM140 billion) to mitigate. School closures due to the haze have been implemented in Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore; this affected nearly four million students in Malaysia alone.

The Global Fire Emissions Database reported that the 2015 Indonesian fires had generated around 600 million tonnes of greenhouse gases, also described as 'roughly equivalent to Germany's entire annual output'. NASA said that the 2015 haze crisis could become the worst recorded in the region, possibly outstripping the 1997 crisis which cost an estimated 9 billion US dollars.

Many Indonesians reported they suffered from dizziness, respiratory illnesses and sore-eyes in the haze-affected areas. Most of the victims killed by the haze were students and newborn babies.

The health impact of haze is dependent on one's health status such as pre-existing chronic heart or lung disease, the API (Air Pollutant Index) level, and the duration and intensity of outdoor activity. Reducing outdoor activities and physical exertion can help limit the ill effects from haze exposure. Persons who are not feeling well, especially the elderly and children, and those with chronic heart or lung conditions, should seek medical attention.

We have our free dinner at Shah Alam stadium hall for one and half hour. We return back to Singapore departed at 8.30pm. In the journey, we make a stopover at Pagoh RnR (Rest and Repair) for 1 hour 45 minutes for bus driver to rest.

We set off from Pagoh RnR at 12.15am and reached Malaysia Second Link Custom – Sultan Abu Bakar Complex at 2.30am. On the journey the bus driver drove at the speed of around 60kmh to 80kmh and most of the time cracked and ate the melon seeds. It even horned twice by container truck on the way and speeded up to 110kmh followed by the horn.

I farewell to all the Singapore fans and proceed to return home.

Food of thought:

1.       More haste, less speed. Driven by the hope to U turn faster to reach Sunway Lagoon Resort, bus driver takes another road which he also doesn’t know the road situation, which is unknown ahead. It is normally happen in our daily life on the journey to achieve the goal.

2.       It is common for unfamiliar at first but you get used to it the next time/over the time. Although the first time my announcement are a bit unorganized, the next time it is so smooth and without nervous. So, everything must try instead of back off due to nervous. Look back the past after many years, we will smile of ourselves for the nervous and glad that we have try at least.

3.       Haze is detrimental to our health and brings huge loss to country economy. We should sabotage these companies who involves in illegal slash-and-burn practices as a relatively inexpensive means of clearing land. We must gather public force to monitor and force them to give in. Clear messages must convey to them to let them know that no companies can go against public will.

4.       28 buses ferrying fee are sponsored by Sultan Selangor. Sultan of Selangor Cup is a very good way to foster both country relationship and cooperation. It is good to have more such events to be held and foreigners, media and blogger invited to attend such events with fee sponsored. It will creates free publicize to the places and promote tourism of that place. Word of mouth from invitee and bloggers are better than advertisement.