Premier to announce ‘better than usual’ incentives for medal winners

KOTA SAMARAHAN: Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg is set to unveil substantial incentives for Sarawak athletes who secure victories at the 21st Malaysia Games (Sukma 2024).

Minister of Youth, Sports, and Entrepreneur Development (MySED) Datuk Seri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah said the announcement is expected to be made during the taekwondo event scheduled for tomorrow (Aug 16).

“The government plans to offer very generous incentives, surpassing those promised by other states to their athletes.

“Therefore, I hope that we (Sarawak) will increase our gold medal count,” he said.

He told the media this during a press conference after officiating at the inauguration ceremony of the Sukma 2024 Sarawak 2024 Sports Village at DeTAR Putra, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas).

During a TVS talk show on Aug  5, Abdul Karim said the Sarawak Cabinet would have to conduct a thorough discussion before finalizing the incentive amounts for host athletes who win gold medals at Sukma 2024.

He expressed confidence that the rewards would be on par with or exceed those offered by other states.

“We don’t want to announce it beforehand; we want the athletes, when they enter the arena or stadium, to focus solely on achieving victory for Sarawak and their personal success.

“It’s crucial that athletes do not compete with incentives in mind. We know how to reward our winning athletes,” he added.

Abdul Karim previously stated that gold medalists in the last edition received an incentive of RM3,000.

As Sarawak is hosting this year’s edition, he assured that the incentive amount for medalists will be increased.