Premier: S’wak mulling incentive amount for state athletes who clinch gold medals in Sukma

KUCHING (Aug 3): The Sarawak government will consider the amount of incentives for state athletes who win gold medals at the 21st Malaysia Games (Sukma), said Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg.

He said the state government will indeed provide incentives but the matter needs to be discussed in Cabinet first.

“We will indeed provide incentives. I will discuss with the Cabinet to provide incentives to athlete who win gold medals.

“I don’t want to mention now (whether the amount will be increased or maintained with other states) as other states might get offended. But we will provide incentives whether the same or better,” he said.

He said this at a press conference here after officiating the handover of the Sarawak flag to state contingent chef de mission Dato Gerald Rentap Jabu. The ceremony was also attended by Minister of Youth, Sports and Entrepreneur Development Dato Sri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah.

Abang Johari also informed Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim is expected to attend the closing ceremony on Aug 24.

“He (the Prime Minister) will come to Sarawak for the Sukma closing ceremony. Even though he is supposed to attend an international event in Kuala Lumpur, he chose to come to Sarawak.

“I thank him, and he also wants Malaysia to excel in sports, which is part of our preparations for the 2027 SEA Games, where Sarawak will co-host,” he said.

Commenting further on Sukma, Abang Johari said it is a very important event in the development of national sports and Sarawak feels fortunate to contribute to this development as the host this year.

He said this Sukma is among the largest ever organised in the country and hoped Sarawak will manage it well, ensure smooth operations and provide facilities for athletes from other states.

“In addition, in this Sukma, we hope Sarawak athletes can achieve our dream of becoming champions by winning the most gold medals,” he said.

He also emphasised that Sarawak would continue to develop sports infrastructure because sports can be a career that benefits athletes.

Successful athletes can become sports personalities or celebrities, which can be a career path given their talents.

“In this regard, I ask Dato Sri Abdul Karim to look at the example of New Zealand, which, despite being a country with a small population, excels in the Olympics.

“Comparing New Zealand to us, it is quite similar in terms of population, with them having around 5 million people and us having 3 million,” he said.