The blog entry, which was posted at 10.06am on Nov 21, ended with this sentence: 'The short talk I had with coach (right) before disembarking worries me.' -- PHOTOS: STNov 30, 2007
The Straits Times (Singapore)
Rueben Kee had a foreboding that the trip to Phnom Pehn 'will be a fight in more ways than one'.
ON the eve of their departure to Phnom Penh for the dragon boat race, Reuben Kee, 23, had a chat with the team coach and became very worried.
He also had a foreboding that 'this trip will be a fight in more ways than one'.
He wrote about his fear and bad-feeling in his last entry on Nov 21, in his blog (www.compositious.blogspot.com).
Titled Stronger shadow from stronger light, and accompanied by piano music, Mr Kee, a music composer, wrote:
Two days later, Mr Kee and four other team-mates - Mr Chee Wei Cheng, 20, Jeremy Goh Tze Xiong, 24, Mr Poh Boon San 27, and Mr Stephen Loh Soon Ann, 31 - drowned after their boat capsized as it was trying to dock after completing the race. Seventeen others survived.
Mr Kee was not the only who had bad feeling about the race.
The coach of the national dragon boat team and several other paddlers felt that way, too, after they surveyed the Tonle Sap River when they arrived in Phnom Penh on Thursday.
In an interview with The Straits Times five days after the tragic accident, coach Nasiman said that he was still haunted by the question if he should have trusted his gut instincts more and pulled the team out of the race.
'The water looked calm, but the currents were strong,' he had said.
The team discussed it and decided to carry on because they felt bad pulling out after having been invited by the Cambodian government to take part.
The veteran dragon boat racer, who has almost two decades' experience racing in places like Australia, Sweden, Hong Kong and Japan, said that he had never experienced such strong currents as in the Tonle Sap river during the Cambodian Water Festival.
On Friday, the day of the races, the Singapore team paddled around for about 20 to 30 minutes, wearing life jackets.
They later discussed whether to wear their life jackets for the race.
'I told the team - two, three times - that if they didn't feel confident, they should wear life jackets. The captain told them that too,' said Mr Nasiman, 57.
'But, collectively, the team agreed not to wear life jackets. They felt they would be an obstruction and they wanted to perform their best.'
He added that most of the other teams - including a women's team - were not wearing life jackets.
He said the team did not face any problem during its race against Cambodia - which it lost.
After the race, the team decided to paddle back to a pontoon located close to a kilometre from the finish line. Others did too, Mr Nasiman said.
'The men wanted more practice in the water and I felt there was no problem in that,' he said.
Tragedy struck when their boat hit the pontoon, tipped over and threw the whole team overboard. Seventeen were fished out of the waters immediately. Five went missing and their bodies were found 40 hours later on Sunday.
ON the eve of their departure to Phnom Penh for the dragon boat race, Reuben Kee, 23, had a chat with the team coach and became very worried.
He also had a foreboding that 'this trip will be a fight in more ways than one'.
He wrote about his fear and bad-feeling in his last entry on Nov 21, in his blog (www.compositious.blogspot.com).
Titled Stronger shadow from stronger light, and accompanied by piano music, Mr Kee, a music composer, wrote:
'Closer and closer.The entry, which was posted at 10.06am on Nov 21, ended with this sentence: 'The short talk I had with coach before disembarking worries me.'
I heard it today, and yesterday. Its getting worse.
What I feared so much, feels so good.
To not give a damn, to give in to it.
Maybe it preparation for going into unfamiliar territory. If anything would happen there, he would be able to ensure any threat would be nullified.
Its so hard to fight against instinct sometimes. Yet sometimes instinct is the only thing that will keep you alive. But it can also strip you of what makes you human.
This trip will be a fight in more ways than one.'
Two days later, Mr Kee and four other team-mates - Mr Chee Wei Cheng, 20, Jeremy Goh Tze Xiong, 24, Mr Poh Boon San 27, and Mr Stephen Loh Soon Ann, 31 - drowned after their boat capsized as it was trying to dock after completing the race. Seventeen others survived.
Mr Kee was not the only who had bad feeling about the race.
The coach of the national dragon boat team and several other paddlers felt that way, too, after they surveyed the Tonle Sap River when they arrived in Phnom Penh on Thursday.
In an interview with The Straits Times five days after the tragic accident, coach Nasiman said that he was still haunted by the question if he should have trusted his gut instincts more and pulled the team out of the race.
'The water looked calm, but the currents were strong,' he had said.
The team discussed it and decided to carry on because they felt bad pulling out after having been invited by the Cambodian government to take part.
The veteran dragon boat racer, who has almost two decades' experience racing in places like Australia, Sweden, Hong Kong and Japan, said that he had never experienced such strong currents as in the Tonle Sap river during the Cambodian Water Festival.
On Friday, the day of the races, the Singapore team paddled around for about 20 to 30 minutes, wearing life jackets.
They later discussed whether to wear their life jackets for the race.
'I told the team - two, three times - that if they didn't feel confident, they should wear life jackets. The captain told them that too,' said Mr Nasiman, 57.
'But, collectively, the team agreed not to wear life jackets. They felt they would be an obstruction and they wanted to perform their best.'
He added that most of the other teams - including a women's team - were not wearing life jackets.
He said the team did not face any problem during its race against Cambodia - which it lost.
After the race, the team decided to paddle back to a pontoon located close to a kilometre from the finish line. Others did too, Mr Nasiman said.
'The men wanted more practice in the water and I felt there was no problem in that,' he said.
Tragedy struck when their boat hit the pontoon, tipped over and threw the whole team overboard. Seventeen were fished out of the waters immediately. Five went missing and their bodies were found 40 hours later on Sunday.
2 comments:
What is a wise coach?
Too bad fools don't take him seriously.
The Great bloodthirsty King Kong Sdach Thmil At Sasna Norodum Sihanouk and his wife and son rush to Pekin because he had the foreboding (after the tragic accident that had cost the 5 Singaporean life in the Tonle Sap River) that he will soon die and aferwards there will be serious disturbances in Srok Khmer.
Down with the Royal family and Yuon Xen traitors!
Post a Comment