2012 Subaru Palm Challenge – 10 Malaysians heading to Singapore for The Asian Face Off

2012 Subaru Palm Challenge – 10 Malaysians heading to Singapore for The Asian Face Off

The Subaru Palm Challenge is back for 2012. This annual contest sees hopefuls from across Asia trying to “outpalm” each other to win a Subaru. More than just a physical challenge, but a severe mental one as well, the contest shows how far one will go to win a car.

Last year, Singaporean Chong Kiat Chi, 42, drove home a Subaru Impreza WRX MT Hatchback worth S$92800 (without COE) after 75 hours and 36 minutes in the sun and rain, outlasting 399 contestants. We were at the Lion City to cover the event live – click here to find out what it is all about.

But before The Asian Face Off finals in Singapore, every country will have a round to pick its strongest palmers. The Malaysian leg happens today at The Curve in PJ, where 62 participants are trying to be one of the 10 who will fly down south. They are required to place their right hand on the car, while competing in seven elimination rounds. Once a palm is off/shifted from the allocated space, he or she is out.

2012 Subaru Palm Challenge – 10 Malaysians heading to Singapore for The Asian Face Off

Among the challenges are standing on one leg, holding a 500 ml bottle at 90 degrees, balancing a ping-pong ball on a spoon with their mouth, and the hardest one – holding two bottles 90 degrees up while standing on one leg. All this while their right hand is on the car.

I popped by The Curve earlier today to check out the contest, and the palmers appeared to be in high spirits, some even dancing to Oppa Gangnam Style played by the DJ! Besides an all-expense paid trip to Singapore (six days in October) for the finals, each of the 10 Malaysian reps will receive an Orient watch worth RM1,600 and Subaru merchandise. See any familiar faces?

UPDATE: The 10 finalists representing Malaysia in the Asian Face Off are Tan Hong Sheng, Dzul Fadly bin Ismail, Ganesan Thavasimuthu, Chang Wei Khang, Tan Yeo Chian, Tan Chuan Kok, Lee Hoong Kit, Tan Chuan Meng, Chan Hon Ki and Soh Kee Leong. Good luck!

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Danny Tan

Danny Tan loves driving as much as he loves a certain herbal meat soup, and sweet engine music as much as drum beats. He has been in the auto industry since 2006, previously filling the pages of two motoring magazines before joining this website. Enjoys detailing the experience more than the technical details.

 

Comments

  • Not boring meh.. every year do this.. sigh..

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    • Rather pay money to get one !

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    • Apa apa sahaja on Sep 10, 2012 at 2:42 pm

      beli saja sebiji WRX..
      at least got warranty if buy..

      apa kelas susah2 nak dapat sebiji percuma; nanti road tax/insurance/service/maintenance tak mampu..
      hurm…

      biasanya practice di Malaysia if kereta tu diberi hadiah..
      ITS JUST the kereta with out WARRANTY!
      hurm…
      just like my neighbour menang BM1 series few years back from Petronas MESRA..
      just got the BMW120i new..
      BUT NO Warranty..
      hurm…

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  • confused on Sep 08, 2012 at 6:39 pm

    Pity tall guys have to put the palm on the hood. Not ergonomic enough.

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  • akupunya on Sep 08, 2012 at 8:04 pm

    of course a real muslim can’t get the car bcz a muslim has to pray 5 time per day. if he’s on travel, he can do jamaq but still not enough to win it.
    if a muslim win this, means that that guy not perform his solat.
    BTW, how the participant want to pee?

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    • i guess there are times for breaks.

      Even le tour de france has ‘pause pour pipi’ – g buang air kecik.

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    • thequestion on Sep 09, 2012 at 10:25 am

      Most faces I saw is tak sembahyang punya type so why bother..car is more important

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      • Apa apa sahaja on Sep 10, 2012 at 2:43 pm

        hahaha good one; nice statement…
        true true true..
        hurm..

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  • ah seng on Sep 08, 2012 at 10:46 pm

    i really salute their perseverance… imagine you can get a brand new car by working for 75 hours non stop… last year the participant won a Sin dollar 100k car…

    if i would to work and pay monthly….
    it’s a RM 200k car…. monthly installment would be
    RM 2000++ non stop for 9 years.. damn…

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  • ben yap on Sep 09, 2012 at 12:52 am

    maybe next time let’s see how many participants will palm a honda EX5. LOL

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  • konfiusdotcom on Sep 09, 2012 at 7:26 am

    aside from the physical endurance test, contestants should be mentally tested. otherwise we got fast reckless driver, no brainer even speeding up at zebra crossing. what an attitude?

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  • thebosssedangbercakap on Sep 09, 2012 at 8:01 am

    pity how some people would damage their nerves permanently just because of a normal car. sad case of asian, especially malaysian.

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    • thequestion on Sep 09, 2012 at 10:24 am

      wat to do, in this country car coz a bomb…even Honda Civic also considered luxury here.

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      • Apa apa sahaja on Sep 10, 2012 at 2:50 pm

        hahaha orang honda civic syok sendiri je la..
        berangan; baru RM130K (2L) or RM120K (1.8L) sudah angan-angan kaya..
        honda its not luxury brand..
        unless Acura yang buat then that is luxury..!

        Conti among super luxury brands: bentley, rolls royce…
        Conti among luxury brands: Audi, BMW, Merc, Volvo..

        Jap among luxury brands: Lexus, Acura, Infinity…

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        • whysoserious on Sep 10, 2012 at 9:16 pm

          don’t simply bash org kalau diri sendiri xpaham ape yg org sampaikan..

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          • Apa apa sahaja on Sep 11, 2012 at 8:51 am

            being keyboard warrior maaa… :)
            biasa la manusia.
            dah terbeli; and letak ego di hadapan will say anything/everything is good walaupun pada hakikatnya ianya tak bagus..

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    • TurboMan!!! on Sep 09, 2012 at 10:34 am

      They have similar competitions in Vegas, France and Australia. Not just in Malaysia.

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  • shawal on Sep 09, 2012 at 10:17 am

    when COE is too expensive….this is your only way…

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  • DArkerMarker on Sep 09, 2012 at 11:55 am

    some called it

    …physical challenging and mentally perseverance….

    some called it

    got-nothing-better-to-do

    Anyway, its their life, their business.

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  • geniuz on Sep 09, 2012 at 12:46 pm

    How to enter this contest anyway?

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  • I propose such contest to subaru. Give all contestant a car. Make them drive on road. The one that committed the least traffic mistakes, ie. signaling (this 1 is the toughest), running red lights, speeding, etc.. will get to keep the car.

    I bet this contest is tougher than holding their hands against the car. Who agrees?

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  • Photobomb on Sep 09, 2012 at 11:49 pm

    That guy in white T’s at back of the picture (right most) is such a photobomb! LOL!

    http://paultan.org/2012/09/08/2012-subaru-palm-challenge-10-malaysians-head-to-singapore-for-the-asian-face-off/20120908_152114/

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  • beng chan on Sep 09, 2012 at 11:54 pm

    work 75 hours ( 10 days average person working hours) can get RM250k. that means RM 500k salary per month. higher than even syabas CEO salary!!! so its worth the hard work and suffering!

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  • beng chan on Sep 09, 2012 at 11:54 pm

    work 75 hours ( 10 days average person working hours) can get RM250k. that means RM 500k salary per month. higher than even syabas CEO salary!!! so its worth the hard work and suffering!

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  • wow…those who place palm on windscreen are less ‘hot’ than those who place on metal surface such as the bonnet ^^

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  • v-power on Sep 10, 2012 at 12:15 pm

    Scorching heat, storms and also lightning…nature could also make this challenge a very dicey proposition… To the eventual winner, all the agony will be worth it…but for the many who don’t (or can’t score a top 10 finish), they will probably be wondering why they thought they had a shot in the first place…

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  • Santosh Rajkumar on Sep 10, 2012 at 1:45 pm

    This should be banned. A lucky draw instead, like human beings. Why see your customers suffer like this, Subaru?

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    • Apa apa sahaja on Sep 10, 2012 at 2:52 pm

      lucky draw..
      where got lucky..
      sure family member/kroni to Subaru will win; coz all is their name…

      :p

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      • aphrodite on Sep 11, 2012 at 4:03 pm

        Hello.. Subaru family members, suppliers, etc are not allowed to join la.. I’m sure it’s a fair play! ;-)

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  • HardCore on Sep 11, 2012 at 5:58 pm

    Everyone have their own way to win a car……contest,luck draw,a gift and etc.At least people won’t say anything bad….WIN IT WITH YOUR OWN PALM…..i respect each of them in the challenge.They brave enough to do it and prove it.Good Luck the Top 10 Malaysia!!!!

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