Dr Ong (second left) and others assisting a disabled participant to the flag-off point. — Photo by Muhammad Rais Sanusi
KUCHING: About 1,000 individuals participated in the Sukma XVIII and Malaysia Paralympics Volunteers Run at Padang Merdeka here yesterday.
Themed ‘Run for a Reason’, it was flagged off by Minister of Welfare, Women and Community Wellbeing Datuk Fatimah Abdullah and State Secretary Tan Sri Datuk Amar Mohamad Morshidi Abdul Ghani at 7am.
The run was organised in conjunction with the hosting of Sukma XVIII (July 22-31) and Malaysia Paralympics (Aug 5-8).
The run was divided into able-bodied and physically-challenged categories. For the able-bodied category, there were the 7km for Men’s Open, Women’s Open and Men’s Junior Veteran; 5km for Men’s Senior Veteran, Women’s Veteran, School Children Boys and Schoolchildren Girls; and 3km for Family Fun.
Under the physically challenged category, there were four events: Wheelchair Men’s and Women’s Open; Blind Run with guides Men’s and Women’s Open; Amputees/Les Autres/ Dwarf; and Intellectually Challenged, covering 3km.
Also present were Ministry of Youth and Sports and Solidarity permanent secretary Kameri Affandi, Sarawak Sports Corporation (SSC) chief executive officer Dr Ong Kong Swee, State Youth and Sports Department director Abdul Harris Ishak and Ministry for Welfare, Women and Community Wellbeing permanent secretary Megir Gumbek.