On cloud nine flying kites

Sculptures in the sky: Participants flying their kites at the Pasir Gudang World Kite Festival in Bukit Layang-Layang. — AFP.

PASIR GUDANG: After a three-year wait, Australian Roger Martin was finally able to pack his bags and make his way here to take part in the Pasir Gudang World Kite Festival.

The 79-year-old retiree had been participating in the annual event without fail since 1999, when the Covid-19 pandemic broke out in 2020.

“Finally, after such a long wait, I can once again showcase my kites.

“I have made friends from all parts of the world who share the same passion through this festival.

“Coming here feels like going home for a family reunion,” he told The Star during the festival.

Martin said he had been to all kinds of kite festivals around the world, including those in China, Taiwan, India, Thailand and his home country over the past 30 years, but this remains his favourite.

For the Pasir Gudang World Kite Festival this year, Martin brought along his popular quad-line (kite with four strings) SpongeBob SquarePants along with about 10 other kites of various shapes and sizes.

“I am best known here for my SpongeBob SquarePants kites, and the one I brought this year is the third I’ve made so far,” he said.

Martin said he had in the past brought along kites of other famous people such as the late Charlie Chaplin and Michael Jackson.

“Once I even flew a kite made in my likeness by a friend!”

The satisfaction of seeing his kites adorning the sky was described as “the best feeling in the world” by him.

“I don’t take part in any competition; I prefer to just showcase my kites for the public to enjoy,” he added.

Martin said he discovered a passion for making and flying kites by accident during an evening stroll on a beach about 30 years ago.

“I was walking on the beach with my son when I saw a man flying a kite with two strings. I was fascinated by it and asked him a bunch of questions.

“From then on, I started building an interest in flying kites and later learnt how to make them myself,” said the father of two and grandfather of five.

In 2004, Martin, along with three of his friends – Micheal Richard, Michael Jenkins and Robert Moore – broke the world record for the highest-altitude fly by a single kite.

“It took us about 10 years to make it into the Guinness World Records, as a lot of preparations went into achieving the record.

“We flew the kite to about 16,000ft (5,000m) above ground, and that was by far our greatest achievement. We’re hoping to better our record in the future,” he said.

The Pasir Gudang World Kite Festival kicked off on Feb 22 and is ongoing at Bukit Layang-Layang until Feb 26.

The festival was last held on a global scale in 2019.

Last year, the festival was scaled down to a national-level event due to border restrictions.

In 2020 and 2021, the festival was postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.