Malaysian yachting received a tremendous boost at the end of 1996 when the RAJA MUDA SELANGOR INTERNATIONAL REGATTA joined forces with Thailand's King's Cup and Singapore's Straits Regatta to form the Annual South East Asia Perpetual Cup Series. However, each event is considered individually as the respective nation's premier offshore yachting championship with the overall winner being renowned as the national champion for South East Asia.

The 1996 Raja Muda International Regatta contained all the thrills and spills of previous years. A cast of international yachting stars assembled at the Royal Selangor Yacht Club to perform their selected acts of seamanship on Malaysian West Coast waters between Port Klang and Langkawi.

The 1996 Regatta saw a record number of twenty Malaysian yachts participating out of a total eighty from 13 other countries. Certainly, 22-30 November were memorable days for all the Regatta participants and alike.