Malaysian actor Jalaluddin Hassan, 69, says people his age 'can still be cool'

Jalaluddin Hassan, 69, spent two weeks in Japan where he toured Tokyo on foot and went boating. Photo: Handout

If there is one thing Datuk Jalaluddin Hassan wants to tell people, it’s that you are never too old to be adventurous.

At a recent press conference, Jalaluddin, 69, said that he embarked on an “exciting journey” overseas as part of Astro’s latest reality series, Travelawak: Projek Bapak-Bapak.

The travelogue revolves around the musings of four fathers who travel to another country to partake in adventurous pursuits. Its star-studded lineup also features Malaysian stars Datuk Ramli MS, 64 and Roy Azman, 52, as well as Singaporean artiste Jatt Ali, 67.

“The concept of this series is to show that people (my age) can still be cool, adventurous and fun. In this show, the producer told us that we would be travelling to Japan.

“But the catch was, neither of us were told who we were going to travel with until the day of the trip itself.

“So you can just imagine the shock I felt when I arrived at the terminal in KLIA and Datuk Ramli MS was standing there waiting for me. It was a truly surreal experience,” Jalaluddin said.

During their two-week trip in Japan, the four of them toured Tokyo on foot, went boating and sat on rollercoaster rides.

However, the most thrilling experience for them was bungee jumping from the Shintabisoko Bridge in Yaotsu, Gifu. Standing at 215m tall, this bridge is reported to be Japan’s highest bridge to bungee jump.

“I actually didn’t take part in the bungee jump because it was something the others had to do as penalty after losing a challenge. But I did climb the platform to watch them (do it).

“Even though he’s the smallest among us, Jatt was brave enough to go first. I was more worried about Roy who kept freaking out before the jump,” Jalaluddin said.

Meanwhile, Roy – whose real name is Zairosminan Abdul Rahman – shared that this was his first (and last) attempt at bungee jumping.

“I don’t think I’ll ever do it again. Even though the professionals on the (bungee jump) team gave me some tips, it took me a while to find the courage to jump off the platform.

“When I was at the top of the bridge looking down, all that was repeating in my head was, ‘I cannot do this... I really cannot do this’. The fear only went away after I jumped.

“It was a very scary experience, but I don’t regret it. At least I can say that I tried,” he said.

Despite the nerve-racking experience, all four reiterated that they had a wonderful time eating good food, taking in beautiful sights, participating in fun outdoor activities and bonding with one another in Japan.

Travelawak: Projek Bapak-Bapak airs every Thursday at 9pm on Astro Warna (Ch 107).