KOTA KINABALU: Sabahan Roihan Ang made his way into the Malaysia Book of Records (MBR) as the first person to successfully dive to a depth of 164m in the waters of Sipadan island.
The 31-year-old made his dive on May 28 and was officially awarded an MBR certificate for the "Deepest Scuba Dive" at the MBR office in Kuala Lumpur today.
Roihan, a native of Semporna, said he took three hours and 30 minutes when deep diving in Sipadan.
"I was assisted by 18 crew members and used eight diving tanks to achieve the record," he said, adding that he hoped the recognition could create opportunities to make Semporna a technical diving hub in addition to recreational and macro diving.
According to Roihan, in order to make the record dive, he had taken numerous precautions and preparations had been taken to ensure success over the past two years ago.
"I also trained intensively with coach Ahmad Gabr, who is also a Guinness World Record holder, for the past year," he said.
Gabr, a former Egyptian army officer, holds the world record for the deepest scuba dive on an open circuit at 332.35m, a feat he achieved in the Red Sea in September 2014 after 10 years of preparation.
Roihan also expressed his appreciation to Sabah Parks and the state Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister for the support and cooperation provided throughout the preparation of the MBR Deep Dive Attempt programme.
Sharing the joy, Gabr said the recognition was a historic moment that made Roihan proud as a local man because he was able to dive in his own hometown.
"Among the training methods used for Roihan to make the record is the 'diving open circuit trimix dive'," he said.
Meanwhile, MBR Deep Dive Attempt programme manager Ag Ahmad Zaki Abu Bakar said Malaysia, especially Sipadan, has a very suitable environment for deep dive activities.
"However, the country still lacks knowledge and techniques about deep diving. I hope this programme can be a pioneer to produce more divers to continue the effort," he said.
Zaki said the team would continue training to break their record by hitting 200m in January and invited any interested parties to participate as sponsors.