PUTRAJAYA: A total of five million students and teachers are involved in the National Sports Day celebrations throughout the country yesterday, said Education Minister Datuk Seri Mahdzir Khalid.
He said various activities were carried out at the school and district levels to encourage joint participation in sports activities, thus forging closer relations between the people regardless of race.
“I hope today will be the start of absorbing the sports culture among Malaysians particularly at the schools and institutions of higher learning,” he said when launching the ‘Jalan Ria 1Murid 1Sukan’ programme at Dataran Putrajaya here yesterday.
In the programme held in conjunction with the National Sports Day, Mahdzir who was joined by Federal Territory Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor, followed the aerobic exercise together with 20,000 students and teachers from schools around Putrajaya.
He later joined the participants for the ‘Jalan Ria 1Murid 1Sukan’ by walking for a distance of 4.5 kilometres.
Mahdzir said in order to encourage the fitness culture at the school level, various efforts were being taken through planned and structured programmes under the ‘1Murid 1Sukan’ policy.
He also disclosed that studies showed 15 per cent of children between the ages of 12 and 19 had the problem of excessive weight. — Bernama