Awang Tengah about to kick the ball to kick-off the Lawas Football League at Lawas Stadium last Sunday.
LAWAS: PBB Bukit Sari welcomes the announcement that this district will have better sports facilities.
Deputy branch chairman and deputy chairman of Lawas District Council Awangku Jinal Abidin Pengiran Jawas said this would enable the district to hold regional level tournaments besides encouraging locals to take up a healthy lifestyle and attracting visitors.
“Lawas is strategically located next to Brunei, Sabah and Labuan, and sports tourism could be an economic driver which benefits locals apart from promoting sports,” he said.
He also said the facilities would draw people from various communities together, thus promoting bonding and solidarity.
Second Minister of Resource Planning and Environment Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hasan, who is also Bukit Sari assemblyman, on Sunday announced that the Lawas outdoor stadium would be upgraded and more village football fields would be built in the district.
He hoped the facilities would motivate more people in this district to take up sports seriously and become state footballers and athletes.
Among the persons to emulate, he added, is Ashri Chuchu, 24, who is with the national football team and state team.
Awang Tengah recalled that in his heydays, he played with Lawas team against the likes of Sabah legendary national players Hasan Sani and James Wong in a friendly match in Sabah.
“We lost 1-2 to the Sabah team in the match, and that was a respectable result as we played against a team which had national strikers in James Wong and Hasan Sani,” he said.