Win-win situation when families do sports together, says deputy minister

KUCHING (Jan 7): The involvement of parents and their children in sports would mark the path leading towards success, said Deputy Minister I for Youth, Sports and Entrepreneur Development Dato Gerald Rentap Jabu.

He regarded this as ‘the most important thing’, in that it could bring families closer and also lead them to good health.

“In this aspect, I am very happy that the Borneo Club has taken the initiative to start something like this, focusing initially on badminton, but also planning to expand into basketball and possibly, canoeing.

“We need quality time with our family – the children, the parents, and the grandparents; thus (through sports), that would be a very good way to keep a healthy body, a healthy mind and a healthy nation,” he said in his speech for the soft launch of Borneo Club at Arena Sukan here today.

Adding on, Rentap also encouraged clubs and organisations to undertake collaborative efforts between themselves, while emphasising the importance of not depending solely on sports bodies and the government for support.

Back on Borneo Club, the deputy minister expressed hope for more people to come and take part in its activities.

“Arena Sukan can be your venue to train, and we can work together.

“This is a good start for everybody, and I wish the club great success, more importantly in producing athletes for Sarawak and Malaysia.

“Badminton is a now an Olympic sport, so this is something that we can look forward – to have an Olympic champion emerging from the Borneo Club,” he added.

A brainchild of a group of sports enthusiasts, Borneo Club aims to provide dedicated sporting training in badminton for the elite athletes and at the same time, it also welcomes the public to come and take part in recreational sports.

The proposed sports facilities, located amidst the scenic natural environment of Keranji on the outskirts of the city, would include international-standard indoor badminton and basketball courts, as well as other amenities for table tennis, swimming and various recreational sports, and also a gymnasium.

For the soft launch today, the organiser had lined up fun games related to badminton for the children.

The event also exhibited an ‘unconventional’ badminton match between the top shuttlers from Borneo Club and an invited team.

Representing the host were Borneo Club head coach Owen Ting Shih Wee, World’s No 84 Gan Jing Err, and Tan Han Fong.

The twist to this exhibition match was that each side had three players, instead of the usual doubles format.

Meanwhile, the club would soon kick off its badminton classes, ranging from beginner’s sessions to the advanced level.

Also present were Federation of Chinese Associations of Sarawak president Dato Richard Wee, Borneo Club director Raymond Tay, and Borneo Club chief executive officer Kelvin Jee.