Fatimah (second left) and the visitors at her office.
KUCHING: 35 athletes and eight coaches from Sarawak are part of the 497-strong Malaysian contingent for the 9th Asean Para Games to be held in Kuala Lumpur from Sept 17-23.
The 35 will be competing in swimming, power lifting, badminton, ten pin bowling, ping pong, chess, wheel chair basketball, cycling and track & field.
Speaking to reporters yesterday, Minister of Welfare, Community Well Being, Women, Family and Childhood Development Datuk Fatimah Abdullah revealed that the athletes were picked through the talent identification (TID) programme by her ministry and the Ministry of Tourism, Arts, Culture, Youth and Sports from July 11 to Aug 11 last year.
The TID programme was conducted with assistance from several government departments and agencies, and non-governmental organisations (NGOs).
Fatimah said Sarawak athletes have represented Malaysia in every Asean Para Games since it started in 2001. Athletes from the state contributed nine gold, nine silver and one bronze medals for the national contingent at the last Asean Para Games held in Singapore in 2015, she added.
Meanwhile, the minister noted that the state is also preparing for the 19th Malaysian Paralimpiad Games in Perak next year, having embarked on the ‘Projek Menang Pingat’ which focusses on ensuring that the medal winners from last year will excel again in 2018.
Preparations are also underway for state athletes who will participate in the 2018 SOPMA.
Yesterday, Fatimah also received a courtesy call from the TID programme co-ordinators at her office at ground floor of Bangunan Baitilmakmur, Petra Jaya.