KUCHING: After a 21-year ban, female bodybuilding is making a comeback in Sarawak this year, adding an interesting twist to the local bodybuilding scene.
Pushing for reinstatement of the sport here is Sarawak Bodybuilding Association (SBBA) president Datuk Wee Hong Seng who was asking: “What ban?”
According to him, in the association’s constitution, there is no statement referring specifically on the ban.
Female bodybuilding was said to be first introduced in 1977 but got the axe nationwide in 1989. It must be popular among the local women back then but the main reason for the ban is yet to be ascertained.
Wee pointed out in an exclusive interview that even if there is a ban, it had been so long ago
and should be rendered void by now due to the essence of time.
Explaining the move to reinstate female bodybuilding in Sarawak as a step forward, the SBBA president said within SBBA constitution, there is a female bodybuilding sub-committee and he believes this indicates that there is room for women to participate in the exciting sport.
“I believe bodybuilding is for anyone who is interested regardless of gender or age. I don’t see why it should be confined only to males” he said.
Wee however stressed that unlike their male counterparts, female bodybuilders should not view it as a competitive sport and that they would only make guest appearances.
He already has a list of possible candidates for the women’s bodybuilding sub-committee members in the association and it is expected to be set up the soonest by June.
The committee is said to have representatives from Kuching, Sibu and Miri who are not necessarily bodybuilders but they should be passionate about the sport.
While complying with the ban, there were no more female bodybuilding competitions being organized in the country except for Melaka which is doing it under the Miss Malacca Beach & Miss Fitness Competitions.
Wee hoped reinstating female bodybuilding here would bring cheers to the local women bodybuilding enthusiasts and hopefully it would inspire others to take up the sports as part of their healthy lifestyle.
“With the growing population in the state, there are bound to be women who are interested in bodybuilding” he said.
Sarawak’s prominent female bodybuilder, Chaser Chan Sun Jun is said to be instrumental in setting the wheel of reinstatement in motion.
She won a creditable third place in her debut at the Melbourne International Natural Bodybuilding Competition in Australia last year.
Wee believed for body builders to excel in the sport, they should go international to gain exposure and experience very much needed to advance further in their body building careers.
“I don’t believe they (bodybuilders) should be restricted to MBF-affiliated competitions. They should move forward by competing overseas to gain more experience and further their career” he said.
However, he is aware of the financial burden local bodybuilders have to shoulder when competing abroad because sponsorship is literally nil and all of the costs would have to be self-funded.
Wee is planning to set up an elite group of bodybuilders as a platform to seek funds from the Ministry of Youth and Sports to provide some form of financial assistance to those taking part in competitions.
On another note, he is also planning to have pre-competition doping tests for bodybuilders who had been selected to compete in the Mr Malaysia Championship.
“It’s only for the national competition and all state level contests are exempted” he said.
“It is more logical to have the tests done prior to any competitions.”
With all these plans lined up for betterment of the sport, Wee appealed to the bodybuilders to continue keeping up with their good work in trying to bring honours to the state.