22 December 2024, Johor-Malaysia: Cherating (Pahang) surfers Haikal bin Muhamad and Qadeja Musaddiq made headlines today at Tanjung Balau Beach by winning both Shortboard and Longboard Divisions of the 2nd annual KEJORA Surfing Cup 24, at the end of a 3-day surfing competition where a field of some 80 surfers from Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Portugal, Philippines and Indonesia came together to compete and enjoy the warm water and good vibes on the white sand beaches of Southern Malaysia.
In the last 25 minute final of the day, in the highly competitive Men’s Shortboard Division, it was 20 year old Haikal bin Muhamad from Cherating (Pahang) who came back on to the beach to claim his second final win of the day. “I’m so happy to win both divisions today,”, said Haikal. “After winning the longboard division, I had a short rest to prepare for the shortboard division, so my mindset was that I already had a win so I would not put too much pressure on myself for the shortboard final. Although it was defiantly tricky out there, but I guess it was my lucky day as the waves came to me and I got some good scores. My Cherating team was on the beach and I could hear them cheering for me, saying ‘go go, you can win this’, so I think everything was just going my way today.” Haikal said he plans to use his prize money to go to Bali (Indonesia) and train to become a professional surfer.
Following his lead was 23 year old Qadeja Musaddiq, also from Cherating, who started surfing when she was just 9 years old. “I’m so excited to win, but also exhausted after competing in both divisions and somehow winning both of them,” said Qadeja. “The wave conditions were a bit crazy, especially for longboarding, so I feel there was a bit of luck, but anyways, so happy to win today. This is for my family, I hope they are proud of me, as I am proud of myself.” When asked what she will do with her prize money, she replied laughing, “Dinner-dinner…big dinner for everyone!”
In the Grommet (Under 16 years old ) Division, it was Lucas Welhe, a 15 year old mixed Malaysian/German who lives in Portugal coming back to the beach with the win.
“The waves were hard to read out there, so my mentality was just to try and find the best waves, and surf my best,” said Lucas. “I went for a free surf in the break before the finals, so when I went into the final I found the waves were the same, so I had an idea of more or less where the good ones would be. It wasn’t easy, but I got the job done.” When asked about his future plans, he replied, I’ll be spending Christmas in Kuala Lumpur with my mom’s family, then looking forward to competing in Tioman in January. I’m stoked to be in Malaysia, and really enjoying surfing and competing and hanging out with everyone here.”
To see all the results, heats and score, please check https://liveheats.com/events/317148
The KEJORA Surfing Cup 24 is a significant event on the yearly Malaysian surf circuit, and as a second annual event has contributed to the growth of surfing in Malaysia.
“This has been a very successful event for KEJORA, for PLOM, and for my hometown of Cherating,” said Mr. Kamarulzaman Muhammad, President of Persatuan Luncur Ombak Malaysia (PLOM). “This is one of five surfing events in Malaysia this year, so we’re very thankful for all the support from KEJORA and that we’re progressing surfing more and more all around the nation. And today, of course I’m also very proud that 4 of the 6 divisions of competition were won by competitors from Cherating. We need to keep encouraging the younger generation to get involved with surfing and also to push the development of surfing all over Malaysia.”
The first competition of the season was the Kemasin Surf Comp Vol. 1, held on 14-15 December at Pantai Impian, Bachok, Kalantan, and the next surfing competition will be taking place on Tioman Island in January of 2025.
The KEJORA Surfing Cup 24
The KEJORA Surfing Cup 24 is organized by the Sinar Tanjung Balau Cooperative (KSTB) in collaboration with the South East Johor Development Authority (KEJORA), the Malaysian Surfing Association (PLOM) and the Johor Surfing Association with official partners Quiksilver, Adabi, Harley Davidson Motorcycles, BSN, and PT Aliyah Rizq Agriculture.
Consistent with the ASC’s mission to develop and grow the sport of surfing in the Asian Region, the ASC is delighted with the opportunity to work with PLOM, KTSB and KEJORA and provide media support for the KEJORA Surfing Cup 24, and is committed to help support and encourage the growth of surfing in Malaysia in 2025 and beyond.
About the ASC
The Asian Surf Cooperative is a professional surfing organization with 20 years of experience in organizing, managing and supporting surfing events and providing educational programs around the Asian region.
The ASC’s mission is to grow the sport of surfing in Asia by offering reliable and consistent resources and assistance to both small and large organizations as they work to progress the sport and their surfing athletes, including consulting and management, live computer scoring, certified judges and professional staffing, event media packages, athlete management, and site surveys, as well as ISA surf instructor and judging/officiating programs.
See more at www.asiansurf.co and @asiansurfco
About PLOM
Persatuan Luncur Ombak Malaysia is the recognised national governing body to represent the sport of surfing, bodyboarding & stand up paddling (SUP) in Malaysia on a national and an international level.
Formed in 2019, PLOM has managed the national surfing team at Philippines 2019 SEA Games for Men’s & Women’s Shortboard & Men’s Longboard Category.
PLOM is a membership based organisation and currently has 5 state surfing associations registered as our affiliated members. See more at https://www.surfingmalaysia.org and https://web.facebook.com/SurfingMalaysiaAssociation and on IG at @persatuanluncurombakmalaysia
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