Snowdan (second, left) seen during the press conference with Hii (left), Ong (second, right) and Abdul Muktalib at the Stadium Negeri yesterday.
KUCHING: Sarawak is looking to set up a high performance sports centre soon.
According to Assistant Minister of Youth and Sports Datuk Snowdan Lawan, he will lead a delegation of Youth and Sports Ministry and Sarawak Sports Corporation officials to New Zealand to study the high performance sports centre models there.
New Zealand is chosen because the country has produced Olympic gold medallists despite having a population of only around four million people.
“I believe that we can learn from them in terms of how they run their development programme and also how they set up their facilities. They certainly have proven that their method works,” he added when speaking to reporters during a press conference held at the Stadium Negeri yesterday.
No timeline, however, was revealed on when the state will establish its own high performance sports centre but Snowdan is confident one will be built soon.
“There are lot of things which we need to find out before we built one but we are nevertheless serious in setting up one in the state at the moment,” Snowdan explained.
With sports officials aiming for Sarawak to become a sports powerhouse in the country, the state is also looking to build a sports school soon.
Also present during yesterday’s press conference were Ministry of Tourism, Arts, Culture, Youth and Sport permanent secretary Hii Chang Kee, SSC chief executive officer Dr Ong Kong Swee and Sarawak Sports Council assistant director Abdul Muktalib Mohamad.