Adenan: Wellness is wealth

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A fit person will be able to live longer, get more out of life and be more productive, says CM

Adenan fist pumps while riding the stationery bike as Khairy (second left), Nancy (left), Lee (right) and Fatimah (fourth left) root for him. — Photo by Tan Song Wei

SHOW OF STRENGTH: A member of the troupe representing the First Infantry Camp in Muara Tuang using his head to break a thick slab of roof slate during a demonstration held in conjunction with the state-level FitMalaysia 2015 event at Padang Merdeka in Kuching yesterday. Over 100 soldiers were involved in the display, under the command of Major Gopalan Balam from First Regiment from Royal Military Police Corps. It was among the highlights of the sports and fitness campaign spearheaded by the Youth and Sports Ministry. — Photo by Ghaz Ghazali

Khairy puts his strength to the test flipping a tractor tyre.

Adenan flexing his muscles as Khairy cheers him on.

The public taking the opportunity to ‘wefie’ with Adenan, Khairy and Lee.

Adenan (centre) and Lee (Adenan’s right) touring the different fitness zones held during Fit Malaysia at Padang Merdeka yesterday. — Photo by Muhammad Rais Sanusi

KUCHING: Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Adenan Satem wants Sarawakians to lead a healthy lifestyle in order to live a long and prosperous life.

Speaking at the state-level Fit Malaysia event at Padang Merdeka here yesterday, he believed health is a crucial aspect in every individual’s life.

“I am 71 years old this year, but I look 20 years younger and am still the most handsome minister. This is why I believe you must be fit (to achieve this),” he quipped.

Recollecting a personal experience that occurred to him two years ago, Adenan said back then, he was gravely ill and admitted to the National Heart Institute (IJN) and Normah Medical Specialist Centre (NMSC).

“At the time, I even thought it was time for me to go. I even called my family, including my grandchildren. But because of the Almighty, I am still here.” Adenan recalled that the crisis taught him the importance of health.

“We must always maintain a healthy lifestyle, including watching what we eat. Today, I’m as fit as (Youth and Sports Minister) Khairy (Jamaluddin Abu Bakar), and perhaps more handsome too. We must take care of our health so that we can live longer.”

Meanwhile, Khairy said Fit Malaysia was held as part of the government’s efforts to achieve its vision of creating a sporting nation.

“We have yet to achieve that because there are a lot of unhealthy Malaysians, including those who are obese or suffering from diabetes and high blood pressure.

“We have to ensure that our people are healthy because this enables them to be more productive. In addition, we can also discover the country’s next sporting star.” Khairy also pointed to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak’s declaration that a National Sports Day would be held on every second Saturday in October throughout the country annually.

“The whole of Malaysia will be active, participate in sports, and prove that we all can contribute towards making our country a sporting nation.

“We want to create more sporting stars, become healthier, and become a country with healthy citizens so that we can become more productive.” On the state-level event, Khairy was impressed by the number of turnouts here, which surpassed 10,000 people.

“Sarawakians do not need to be forced to join Fit Malaysia, and we don’t even have to pay for people to turn up.

“The minute they hear there’s a fitness programme, Sarawakians will come forward (to take part) on their own initiative.”

The state-level event featured people from all walks of life participating in various sporting activities, including the Fit Malaysia Run (5km and 10km) and Fit Malaysia Ride (10km and 30km) that was participated by more than 10,000 people and 1,000 people respectively.

There were also self defence zone, fitness zone, extreme zone, kids zone and filler activities held throughout the day.

Present during the launch were Works Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Nancy Shukri, Assistant Minister of Sports Datuk Lee Kim Shin, Minister of Welfare, Women and Family Development Datuk Fatimah Abdullah and State Secretary Tan Sri Datuk Amar Morshidi Abdul Ghani.