AFTER cycling for 21 days on his trishaw, it was mission accomplished for IT consultant Frankie Tan Ming Kiong who finally reached Penang from Malacca.

The 40-year-old who covered a gruelling distance of 800km was given a warm welcome by Penang Tourism Development and Culture Committee chairman Danny Law Heng Kiang at the Cititel Hotel on Saturday.

Tan set out on his journey on June 6 on a mission to promote Malacca and Penang as World Heritage Sites as well as to raise money for charity.

He said he did not expect to receive such an overwhelming reception upon his arrival.

Mission accomplished: Tan (left) with a friend, Huan Kok Cherng accompanying him as a passenger, arriving in Penang on Saturday.

“I feel like a superstar,” he said in a press conference at the hotel.

During the journey from Malacca, Tan used coastal trunk roads and visited small towns.

He described the locals as warm and friendly.

“A pakcik in Sabak Bernam even offered to take me sight-seeing at the waterfall area.

“I truly believe that Malaysians are a united lot. My family, friends and myself feel proud to be Malaysians,” he said.

Tan had snapped thousands of photographs of his trip and it would soon be posted on his website www.thetrishawman.com.

He also plans to compile an album called ‘United Faces of Malaysia’.

Tan had the support of his friends who followed him in a car throughout the entire journey.

He bought the trishaw in March last year to bring his wheelchair-bound grandmother for evening outings. She passed away in January this year.

Tan trained for several times a week since March by pedalling his trishaw from Malacca to Muar.

He said he managed to raise RM150,525 for charity and the money would be given to four organisations — the National Council for the Blind, Women’s Aid Organisation, Malacca SPCA and Malacca’s Wings Early Intervention for Mentally Challenged Children.

Those who would like to pledge monetary support for the above organisations can visit Tan’s website.

(News published in The Star on 29 June 2009.)