Minister responds to Kedah CM’s request for travel subisidy: Sarawak, Sabah have long suffered in silence to bear high travel costs to Peninsula for sports events

Dato Sri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah

By DayakDaily Team

KUCHING, July 12: Sarawak and Sabah have long endured high expenses and silently shouldered the burden of “flying” to Peninsular Malaysia for national-level tournaments and games, asserted Sarawak Minister of Youth, Sports and Entrepreneur Development Dato Sri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah.

Abdul Karim noted that the request from Kedah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor, for Sarawak to cover part of the travel costs for Kedah’s contingent reflects a similar “suffering” faced by both Sarawak and Sabah.

“As stated by the Chief Minister of Kedah, that is the burden we have had to bear during national events, including sports, whenever they are held in Peninsular Malaysia.

“Contingents from Sarawak and Sabah also incur significant costs for participating in various sports events, whether it is Sukma or the annual national football league. We also suffered in silence just to be able to participate,” he said in a news report by TVS today.

Abdul Karim’s comments were in response to Muhammad Sanusi’s request for Sarawak to subsidise part of the travel expenses for Kedah’s contingent.

He characterised Muhammad Sanusi’s request as a jest, considering Kedah’s status as a developed state with industrial parks.

Abdul Karim, who is also Minister of Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts, believes that sending a contingent to Sarawak for Sukma should not pose a problem for Kedah.

On Wednesday, Muhammad Sanusi cited the high costs of travel and the need to transport equipment as reasons for seeking Sarawak’s help with covering part of these expenses.

Sukma 2024 will take place across nine divisions in Sarawak from Aug 17 to 24, featuring 37 sports, 488 events, and involving 12,619 athletes and officials. — DayakDaily