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Dato Sri Abdul Karim Rahman HamzahAdvertisement
By DayakDaily
KUCHING, May 10: Sarawak Minister for Youth, Sports and Entrepreneur Development Dato Sri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah has called for a more balanced national approach to sports development, saying each state should be developing a variety of sports instead of certain disciplines being concentrated in only one location.
His remarks came after artistic swimming (formerly synchronised swimming) was reportedly dropped from the upcoming Sukma Games in Selangor due to insufficient participation from states.
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He said he had been informed that the event could not proceed as it failed to meet the minimum participation requirement, which typically requires entries from at least six states.
“I was also informed that synchronised swimming was dropped because there was no participation.
“For Sukma, each sport must have participation from at least, if I am not mistaken, six states. If only three states submit entries, it will be dropped,” he said when met after officiating the closing ceremony of the 61st Milo/PRAM Malaysia Invitational Age Group Diving Championship 2026 at Pandelela Rinong Aquatic Centre today.
Abdul Karim said the recurring issue reflects an imbalance in how certain sports are developed nationwide, where some disciplines are only actively trained in limited states.
“Over the years, some sports are not consistently encouraged. It comes and goes. When it comes and goes like this, some states—like water polo previously—disappeared for quite some time.
“Synchronised swimming may only involve two or three states in training, so it still cannot reach national level,” he explained.
He stressed that the key issue lies in how sports are distributed and developed across the country.
“At the national level, we need to look at how each state must at least have certain sports. It cannot be that only one state trains it. If that happens, there will be no competition,” he said.
Meanwhile, Abdul Karim also expressed caution over the reported reduction in volunteer numbers for the upcoming Sukma Games in Selangor, from 30,000 to 5,000.
He said volunteers play an important role in ensuring the smooth organisation of major sporting events such as Sukma and the SEA Games.
“If the number is reduced too much, will it affect certain sports at certain venues? But we give space to the host state, Selangor. I believe they must have a way to ensure the reduction in volunteers will not affect any events to be held there,” he added. — DayakDaily
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