KUALA LUMPUR: OVER 700 people put on pink jerseys, bearing a message that read “Beat breast cancer”, and jumped on their bicycles yesterday morning for the Wacoal Pink Ribbon Awareness Ride.
In its second consecutive year, the ride was organised in collaboration with the New Straits Times Press (NSTP).
Participants started and finished their 25km ride at NSTP’s Balai Berita here. They were flagged off by Wacoal Malaysia executive director Takashi Watanabe and NSTP group managing editor Datuk Abdul Jalil Hamid.
Present were Wacoal Malaysia director and general manager Vincent Leong, NSTP Advertising general manager Jeannie Leong and Miss Malaysia World 2015 Brynn Lovett.
There were three pit stops at iconic locations during yesterday’s ride — Brickfields, the Sultan Abdul Samad building and Kuala Lumpur City Centre (KLCC) — where the cyclists took selfies as they waited for fellow cyclists to catch up.
Husband-and-wife participants John Ha, 52, and Tui Soke Lai, 52, came all the way from Bentong to support the breast cancer awareness campaign.
Tui, a headmistress, did it to give moral support to her colleague, who is battling breast cancer.
“I want her to know that she is not fighting alone, as all of her friends are giving her strength to fight on,” Tui said, adding that she also knew a student whose mother had died of breast cancer at the young age of 40.
“Malaysians’ awareness of breast cancer is still very low. We never really pay attention to it until it hits us personally,” Tui said.
Ha said men should also be equally aware of breast cancer, as it could happen to their wives, mothers or sisters.
After the ride, participants were entertained with a “Pink Ribbon Power Dance”, which incorporated breast self-examination.
The best decorated bicycle was awarded with product vouchers worth RM1,000, while 10 lucky participants took home some Wacoal merchandise, including a mini iPad.
Wacoal Malaysia has been spearheading the global Pink Ribbon campaign in the country every October since 2003.
Aside from the awareness ride, Wacoal is also organising a fitting campaign, which is carried out at its outlets nationwide throughout the month.
“Taking care of your breasts is a part of personal health care and knowing the right brassiere size for your breasts is very important.
“A comfortable brassiere helps to keep your breasts healthy, while too much pressure could cause problems,” Watanabe said.
Commenting on the partnership with NSTP, Watanabe said they were happy to work with NSTP, who had been very supportive from the beginning.
“It has been a great partnership, especially when wanting to reach out to the public. NSTP has made this event happen for us.”
To further expand awareness on breast cancer, Wacoal Malaysia also ran a Pink Ribbon Photo Contest on its Facebook page. The winner with the most “likes” for his or her photo will take home a mini iPad.