Official Opening of MAFEC
Friday, February 18th, 2005
MAFEC or Malaysian Armed Forces Equestrian Centre was officially opened yesterday by the Deputy Prime Minister, YAB Dato’ Sri Mohd Najib who is also the Minister of Defence. The DPM and wife were driven in by horse carriage which was provided by the Selangor Turf Club.Amongst the guests present were, General Tan Sri Dato’ Seri Mohd Zahidi the Head of the Malaysian Armed Forces and patron of MAFEC, YM Raja Azureen the Royal Patron of RDA Malaysia, En Ahmad Mustapha the President of RDA Malaysia, Tan Sri Mahadevan, YM Tunku Shahabudin, YAM Tengku Syarif Temenggung Perlis, Dato Seri DiRaja Syed Amir Abidin the President of The Royal Selangor Polo Club, En Malek Jeremiah of the Equine Council and many more. Also present were many high ranking officers of the armed forces.
After the signing of the official opening plaque, the DPM and guests were treated to a display of riding by the RDA children, show jumping skills by the MSN students and a musical ride by the MAFEC riders. After some refreshments, the DPM was presented with a token of appreciation.
MAFEC has been in operation since 2003. Besides giving riding lessons, the venue has been used for workshops and courses in horse management. They are also an RDA centre. Through the Equine Council, MAFEC has also been used for the ‘Riding in Schools Programme’ and is now the base for the Majlis Sukan Negara (MSN) students.In the future, MAFEC aims to be even more active in equestrian sports by taking part in more competitions in Malaysia. They also aim to raise the standard of their instructors by sending them overseas for courses. They are also hoping to start their own Pony Club to enable the children of the officers to start riding. With that MAFEC is aiming to be a Centre of Excellence for equestrian.
