27 Feb Only Sarawakian-born athletes for Perak Sukma 2018
KUCHING: All Sarawakian-born athletes are urged to represent the state and not other states in the Malaysia Games (Sukma) even though there is a history of some of them who ended up competing for other states in the bi-annual event.
According to Sarawak Assistant Minister of Youth and Sports, YB Datuk Snowdan Lawan, there is also no reason why Sarawakian-born athletes should represent other states as the state have programmes for its athletes which are as good as the ones found in any other state in the country.
So far there is no such case of a Sarawak-born athlete representing another state but state sports officials are keen to prevent any from happening in future.
YB Datuk Snowdan stressed that the state is doing their best to keep Sarawakian athletes happy and not go away and represent other states, especially for the 2018 Sukma to be held in Perak sometime in September.
But Sarawak athletes, he added, must also understand that the state has its own procedures in grooming and selecting its athletes.
“We nevertheless try to keep everyone happy while we hope that we will not lose our athletes, especially our best ones. We want to them to serve and represent only the state apart from having a sense of identity for Sarawak,” the Assistant Minister said.