Abdul Karim (left) and SAAA president Dr Gregory Hii (seventh from left) pose with athletes at this year’s Sibu Open.
SIBU: There is a need for re-focusing and re-building to ensure that Sarawak can capture the 2018 Sukma overall title.
Youth and Sports Assistant Minister Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah said he would bring up this matter soon as he wanted to see Sarawak remain a sport powerhouse in the country.
Abdul Karim admitted that he was actually very disappointed that Sarawak failed to clinch overall title this year.
“But there was nothing much I can do as I was only appointed chef-de-mission less than a month before Sukma and I don’t have much power to do anything because at that time, all the arrangements were more or less settled,” he added.
Abdul Karim was speaking at the closing of the Sibu Open Track & Field Championship at Stadium Tun Zaidi here last Sunday.
The assistant minister also lamented that he saw quite a lot politics inside some sports associations.
“So this time round, we need to do a lot of spring cleaning to make sure the associations are good and the centre of excellence is in the right place.
We also do not want to have athletes who are not supposed to be representing but were chosen over the better ones, whether it is in swimming, athletics or in any other sports.
This is why it is important for us to really focus in preparing ourselves in whatever tournament we are focusing if we want to cement our reputation as sport powerhouse.”
Sibu, he commented, seems to be have excelled in sports like swimming, rugby, volleyball, athletics (field events) and there must be something special about the way and the approach that Sibu people looks towards sports.
On the Sibu Open, Abdul Karim praised Sibu Amateur Athletics Association (SAAA) for organising the popular event which helps in developing athletes in the state.
“There must be good competition, not just one competition but a series of competition the whole year round. That is why if you want to develop good sportsman and good athlete in track and field, you must have lots of tournament to be held all over Sarawak throughout the year,” he advised.
He gave the example of Sarawak being overall champion in the MSSM national schools athletics championships for many years.
He later announced a RM10,000 grant for SAAA.