Four Sabah women who brought home gold from the tug of war demonstration event at the 2025 SEA Games take centre stage in WONDA Kopi Tarik’s “Tarik Malaysians Together” campaign this Merdeka and Malaysia Day.
KUALA LUMPUR, 27 AUGUST 2026 — For four women from Sabah, a passion for tug of war took them from their everyday lives all the way to the SEA Games stage in Thailand.
In 2025, Doris Ng Lee Chu, Noveny Viannie, Victoria Martin and Lisa Lawrence, members of Sabah-based GeramBeat, competed in the Women’s 4×4 250kg Tug of War demonstration event, where they brought home gold for Malaysia.
While tug of war was featured as a demonstration event rather than an official medal sport, the achievement marked an extraordinary milestone in GeramBeat’s journey- one that remains largely unknown to many Malaysians.
This Merdeka and Malaysia Day, WONDA Kopi Tarik is putting the spotlight on GeramBeat through its “Tarik Malaysians Together” campaign, bringing their journey from Sabah to a wider Malaysian audience and celebrating the women behind the achievement.
At the heart of the campaign is a simple connection familiar to Malaysians: kopi tarik brings people together, just as tarik tali only works when people pull together.
For GeramBeat, that spirit of tarik became something bigger. What started as a shared passion at community level brought four women together through training, competition and everyday life, ultimately taking them to Thailand to compete at the SEA Games.
BRINGING GERAMBEAT’S STORY TO MALAYSIANS
From left to right: Lisa Lawrence, Noveny Viannie, Doris Ng Lee Chu and Victoria Martin; GeramBeat team members celebrate their historic gold medal win at the 2025 SEA Games in Thailand in the Women’s 4×4 250kg Tug of War demonstration event.
GeramBeat’s journey comes to life in WONDA Kopi Tarik’s hero film, giving Malaysians a closer look at the women behind the team and the commitment that took them from Sabah to the SEA Games stage.
Set against the rhythm of their everyday lives, the film follows four women balancing jobs, families and responsibilities with their dedication to tug of war. Away from the competition stage, they are everyday Malaysians who continue to pursue their passion for the sport despite the challenges and limited recognition that come with it.
“When we first heard GeramBeat’s story, what stood out to us was how extraordinary their journey was, yet how few Malaysians knew about it. These are four women from Sabah, each with their own jobs, families and responsibilities, who came together and made it all the way to the SEA Games stage. We felt their story deserved to be heard and celebrated by more Malaysians’, shared Amy Gan, Vice President of Marketing at Etika Sdn Bhd.
She continued, “There is also something beautifully simple about how their story connects with WONDA Kopi Tarik. Tarik tali is not won by one person — everyone has a role, everyone has to trust one another, and everyone has to pull together. That is what ‘Tarik Malaysians Together’ means to us: celebrating what we can achieve when we bring our strengths together. ”
The campaign will continue across radio, digital and social platforms, giving Malaysians more opportunities to discover GeramBeat’s journey and get to know the women behind the achievement.
Through their story, WONDA Kopi Tarik hopes to bring a more relatable expression of unity to Merdeka and Malaysia Day, grounded not just in the idea of coming together, but in what Malaysians can achieve when they do.
THE WOMEN BEHIND GERAMBEAT’S SEA GAMES JOURNEY
Behind GeramBeat’s SEA Games journey are four women whose lives outside the sport are as different as the roles they play on the rope.
Doris Ng, 38, works as a Sales & Marketing Executive. Noveny Viannie, 26, is a Forwarding Executive from Kampung Lamat, Sabah. Victoria Martin, 51, is a housewife and farmer from Kampung Mekiok, Papar, while Lisa Lawrence, 29, works as an Administrative Officer at a factory in Kota Kinabalu.
Their lives and experiences may be different, but on the rope, every woman has a role. Their success in the tug of war demonstration event at the 2025 SEA Games was built not only on physical strength, but also on discipline, trust and the ability to work together towards one shared goal.
To give Malaysians a closer look at the team behind the achievement, the GeramBeat members will also be featured in an exclusive interview with Astro, where they will share what it took to compete at the SEA Games stage and the significance of bringing home gold from the demonstration event.
It is this collective strength that sits at the heart of WONDA Kopi Tarik’s “Tarik Malaysians Together”, celebrating what can happen when people bring their strengths together and pull towards the same goal.
FROM MERDEKA TO MALAYSIA DAY
The celebration will continue into Malaysia Day, as WONDA Kopi Tarik takes “Tarik Malaysians Together” from on-screen to on-ground at Keretapi Sarong 2026 on 16 September, bringing the campaign’s spirit of togetherness to Malaysians through a series of interactive experiences.
WONDA will kick off the Malaysia Day celebration at Subang Jaya LRT Station, where participants can enjoy live performances, interactive games, free WONDA Kopi Tarik and exclusive freebies. As part of the celebration, WONDA will also be offering free train rides to Keretapi Sarong 2026, encouraging Malaysians to join the festivities together. WONDA will also have an engagement booth, giving Malaysians another way to celebrate Malaysia Day together.
Together, these experiences turn the familiar spirit of tarik into an opportunity for Malaysians to connect, participate and celebrate this Malaysia Day.
For more information and the latest campaign updates, follow WONDA Coffee’s official social media channels @wondacoffee on Instagram
