One for the record books as Malaysian heads into space

KUALA LUMPUR - The United States has the astronaut, China has the taikonaut, and now Malaysia has the "angkasawan," as the country with a mania for record-setting prepares to blast its first citizen into space. Malaysia's determination to seek recognition on the international stage has already seen it scrape the skies -- constructing the glittering Petronas Twin Towers which for a time was the world's tallest building.
A small Muslim-majority nation with big ambitions, it hopes the space project will be an inspiration for Muslim across the globe and recall the glory days of Islamic science and discovery.
The nationwide hunt to select the candidate who will hitch a ride on a Russian Soyuz spacecraft to the International Space Station in October 2007 drew tens of thousands of hopefuls.
The three men and one woman who made the shortlist have spent a month going through their paces in Moscow, undergoing an intensive course in everything from Russian language and table manners to orbital mechanics.
A battery of tests and examinations will identify the best candidate and a back-up astronaut, who will undergo 18 months of training in Star City, Moscow.
The chief of the National Space Agency, or Angkasa, Mazlan Othman said the program was an inspiration to young people in multicultural Malaysia, which strives for harmony among its ethnic Malay, Indian and Chinese communities.
"The excitement that it generates ... inspiring the young people, making them see how important it is to be good, to be healthy, it's part of the plan," she told AFP.
"The country needs a project which the entire country can rally behind, and ... would make people aware that there are lofty ideals to be achieved."
Malaysia's space project could help encourage national unity and a sense of national identity, she said.
"And most importantly also because three of the candidates are Muslim, it's for us to also give a message to the world that Muslims are also involved in high-technology, cutting-edge science.
"We hope to inspire the rest of the Muslim world that there are things beyond the Earth." she said. "We talk about the glorious days of Islamic science, well maybe it's time we got back into that and rebuilt those glorious days."