JOHOR BAHRU: Any state participating in the Para SUKMA XXI Sarawak 2024 must conduct the classification of their athletes who will compete for their respective states.
Sarawak Minister for Women, Early Childhood and Community Wellbeing Development, Dato Sri Fatimah Abdullah said that the athlete classification must also be carried out thoroughly.
According to her, this classification is crucial to avoid issues where athletes are not allowed to compete upon arrival in Sarawak.
"If this happens, it would be a significant loss, especially for athletes who have trained throughout the year and even longer for this championship.
"With the increasing flight costs today, it would be a loss if athletes are not allowed to compete upon arriving in Sarawak.
"It will dampen the athletes' spirits as they are not allowed to compete upon arrival in Sarawak. This is what we emphasise in this Para SUKMA.
"The classification must be done correctly and thoroughly at the state level so that when they arrive, they can participate in the sports events identified by their coaches," she said.
She said this in a press conference in conjunction with the courtesy visit of the SUKMA and Para SUKMA XXI Sarawak 2024 delegation to Johor Menteri Besar, Dato Onn Hafiz Ghazi at the Dato Ja’afar Muhammad Building, Johor Bahru on Wednesday.
The delegation was led by Sarawak Minister for Youth, Sports and Entrepreneur Development, Dato Sri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah.
Also present were Sarawak Deputy State Secretary (Operation) who is also Chief Executive Officer of SUKMA XXI Sarawak 2024 Datu Hii Chang Kee, Permanent Secretary to the Sarawak Ministry of Women, Early Childhood and Community Wellbeing Development, Datu Felicia Tan, and Permanent Secretary to the Sarawak Ministry of Youth, Sports and Entrepreneur Development, Morshidi Fredrick.
Meanwhile, Dato Sri Fatimah said the Para SUKMA XXI Sarawak 2024 event will take place from September 20 to 28, featuring 10 sports and 334 events.
A total of 13 states including the Federal Territories and Labuan will also participate this time.
Responding to the requests of participating states, Dato Sri Fatimah said, all events will be held in Kuching to save on expenses borne by each team.
She also expressed gratitude to the Johor government for participating in this Para SUKMA.
For the record, Johor is the eighth stop for the SUKMA and Para SUKMA XXI Sarawak delegation after Penang, Perlis, Kedah, Perak, Kelantan, Terengganu, and Pahang starting from April 22.
The delegation will continue their courtesy visit tour to Melaka and Negeri Sembilan today. -UKASnews
