KUALA LUMPUR: The national jet ski squad hope sponsors will come in as they have been hit by yet another setback with just over a week before their competition starts at the Indonesia Asian Games.
Recently, Bryan Chia had issues with his jet ski. He has also been registered for the endurance and limited events, which are not his forte.
Now, they are troubled by freight and fuel concerns. They need to pay their way to compete in Indonesia as the team are under the ‘B’ category.
The Malaysian Jet Ski Association (MJSA) are not a member of the Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM).
MJSA president Datuk Mohamed Saffian Omar said initially they were supposed to transport equipment and fuel via freight but are now facing issues with Customs.
“We were supposed to freight everything, including the fuel in a 40-foot container to Jakarta. Everything is there. But the process of getting the equipment in is now a hassle and we have to pay under counter which we can’t afford.
“We have decided not to bring the craft but instead just the engines,” said Saffian.
Saffian said the prices of fuel in Indonesia are exorbitant.
“It will cost us RM15 per litre for Ron 100 while it is only RM2.50 per litre in Malaysia. We will need to fork out RM15,000 to cover the costs.
“We can’t bring in the fuel because Pertamina (the national energy company) controls all fuel imports. We checked the price of racing fuel and it has increased to RM15 per litre.
“For endurance, we have two riders and we will have to spend RM12,000 on fuel,” he added.
The Asian Games jet ski competition will be held at Ancol Beach in Jakarta on Aug 23-26.