Hannah Yeoh praises Para athletes, calls for continued support and inclusion

KUCHING (Sept 29): There is significant interest in Malaysia’s Para athletes today, driven by their accomplishments on both local and international sports stages, said federal Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh.

Speaking at the closing ceremony of the 21st Malaysia Para Games (Para Sukma XXI) at Stadium Perpaduan here last night, Yeoh expressed optimism that this growing interest would continue to rise.

She hopes that every Para Sukma athlete who excels will inspire families with special needs children to encourage their involvement in sports.

“It’s not true that there is less interest in Para sports compared to able-bodied athletes. On my own Facebook, out of all the videos from the Paralympics or the Paris Olympics, the video of (Sarawakian para powerlifter) Bonnie winning a gold medal, have garnered the highest views, with 3 million views. This shows that there is great interest out there towards our Para athletes.

“So, I hope every special story and outstanding achievement from Para Sukma will be widely shared. I want to extend my thanks, especially to TV Sarawak and Bernama, for their efforts in producing various stories and reports about our Para athletes, so that more people can follow their success stories,” she said.

Yeoh said that as the minister in charge of the Youth and Sports portfolio, she truly wants to see sports as a medium for promoting a healthy lifestyle and fostering excellence among the nation’s youth.

Furthermore, she highlighted sports as a unifying force across different races and cultures.

“Based on the reforms and improvements implemented by Para Sukma Sarawak, I am also hopeful that for the next event in Selangor, we can strive to create another legacy for Para Sukma by moving towards zero classification.

“I had also discussed with Dato Sri Fatimah earlier, and our hope is that in future editions of Para Sukma, no sport events will be excluded so that we can celebrate all our Para athletes and provide them with a platform to compete,” said Yeoh.

“Each time Para Sukma is held, there are Para athletes competing for the first time, some who need to enhance their efforts to represent Malaysia at the Paralympics, and others who may be retiring afterward.

“Regardless of the outcomes for these Para athletes, I want to assure you that both the federal and state governments will continue to support you.

“We aim to create more platforms for you to discover your talents and offer various programs to help unearth even more potential,” she added.

Yeoh also mentioned that she will miss the song from Sukma and Para Sukma.

“I really, really like the song, and I want to thank the songwriter for it. I hope Sarawak will recycle the tune – maybe change the lyrics for your next event – but continue using it, because it is a very catchy song. Congratulations and well done.

“Clearly, the Sarawak government has demonstrated its capability as the host of Para Sukma 2024. My heartfelt thanks go to the entire organising committee as Sarawak has now set a new benchmark for future Para Sukma events,” said Yeoh.

Also present at the ceremony were Sarawak’s Minister of Women, Childhood and Community Wellbeing Development Dato Sri Fatimah Abdullah,  who is also the minister-in-charge of the games, and Minister of Youth, Sports and Entrepreneur Development Dato Sri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah.