{"id":44789,"date":"2025-07-07T01:40:11","date_gmt":"2025-07-07T01:40:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/44789\/"},"modified":"2025-07-07T01:40:11","modified_gmt":"2025-07-07T01:40:11","slug":"age-is-no-excuse-74-year-old-pak-habib-keeps-johoreans-moving-with-aerobics-humour-at-taman-merdeka","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/44789\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Age is no excuse\u2019: 74-year-old Pak Habib keeps Johoreans moving with aerobics, humour at Taman Merdeka"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

JOHOR BARU, July 7 \u2014 While many his age prefer a quiet morning at home, 74-year-old Syed Abdul Rahman Syed Jaafar, fondly known as Pak Habib, can be found leading energetic aerobics sessions, music booming and smiles all around, at Taman Merdeka here.<\/p>\n

A familiar figure to regulars at the park, Pak Habib teaches free aerobics classes from Thursday to Sunday, starting as early as 8am, drawing a loyal following from people of all ages and backgrounds.<\/p>\n

Armed with a playlist of over 2,000 songs from various genres, he blends fitness with fun \u2014 mixing in everything from silat and Tai Chi to yoga, dangdut and zapin, to keep things lively.<\/p>\n

\"At <\/p>\n

At 74, Syed Abdul Rahman Syed Jaafar, fondly known as Pak Habib, brings energy, humour and inspiration to Taman Merdeka\u2019s morning aerobics scene. \u2014 Bernama pic<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople won\u2019t get bored if we mix it up. At the same time, I also give motivational talks and fitness tips during class,\u201d said the former Telekom Malaysia technician, who also holds a Diploma in Sports Science from Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM).<\/p>\n

His workouts are light and accessible, focusing on balance, blood circulation, muscle flexibility and breathing, making them suitable for all ages.<\/p>\n

Pak Habib\u2019s journey into aerobics began in the 1990s when a friend was searching for a male instructor.<\/p>\n

\u201cBack then, aerobics was usually taught by women, so I initially declined. But with a bit of encouragement and some sports knowledge, I gave it a shot \u2014 and here I am, still needed by the community even as age catches up,\u201d he shared.<\/p>\n

\"Despite <\/p>\n

Despite participants spanning various age groups, most are senior citizens joining aerobics sessions led by Syed Abdul Rahman Syed Jaafar at Taman Merdeka today. \u2014 Bernama pic<\/p>\n

Despite many urging him to slow down, Pak Habib remains steadfast in his belief that age should never be an excuse to stop moving.<\/p>\n

\u201cI may have physical limitations now, but that doesn\u2019t mean we stop. We adapt to our abilities. The one gift Allah has given me is that I can speak well\u2014I give motivation, crack jokes, and bring humour. That\u2019s what makes my class vibrant,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Among his regular participants is 48-year-old Suhaila Abd Talib, who has been attending his sessions for more than a decade.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s not just teaching aerobics. He gives motivation, shares health tips and makes it fun. I\u2019ve learned so much from him,\u201d said the mother of two.<\/p>\n

With humour, and a whole lot of energy, Pak Habib continues to defy age and inspire many \u2014 one dance move at a time. \u2014 Bernama<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"JOHOR BARU, July 7 \u2014 While many his age prefer a quiet morning at home, 74-year-old Syed Abdul…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":44790,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[38],"tags":[34687,1728,1198,210,34685,34686,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-44789","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-fitness","8":"tag-aerobics","9":"tag-exercise","10":"tag-fitness","11":"tag-health","12":"tag-johor","13":"tag-pak-habib","14":"tag-united-states","15":"tag-unitedstates","16":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/114809406935128447","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44789","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=44789"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44789\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/44790"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44789"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=44789"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=44789"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}