07 Mar Establishment of high performance centre in Sarawak soon
KUCHING: The establishment of a high performance in Sarawak could within the next three years with the aim to boost the state’s determination to become the sports powerhouse in the country.
This was disclosed by Sarawak Minister of Tourism, Arts, Culture, Youths and Sports YB Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah who said there plans to establish a sports school in the vicinity of the Sarawak Sports Complex in Petra Jaya.
According to him, the plan to convert an existing secondary school into a sports school but such initiatives must first be agreed upon by the Ministry of Youth and Sports Malaysia and the Ministry of Education Malaysia.
“One Ministry had tentatively agreed and we are still in the process of negotiation with another Ministry,” he said after receiving a courtesy call from the Sarawak Arm Sport Association (SASA) delegates at his office in Bangunan Baitulmakmur, Petra Jaya on March 6.
The school, the hostels and the whole sports complex would then be placed at the disposal of the centre. The Minister further said that Sarawak wants to study the New Zealand model and despite having a population of only four million people, the country’s athletes had won multiple gold medals in many Olympic Games.
“I will be leading a team comprising Assistant Minister of Youth and Sports, YB Datuk Snowdan Lawan, Ministry of Tourism, Arts, Culture, Youth and Sport permanent secretary Mr Hii Chang Kee, Sarawak Sports Corporation (SSC) Chief Executive Officer, Dr Ong Kong Swee and others to New Zealand on March 12.
According to him, the state delegation will visit the high performance sports centre there and to explore the possibilities of having bilateral arrangements for their New Zealand counterparts to render assistance in developing similar centre locally. (Photo credit; The Borneo Post)