Participating pupils of SK Putrajaya Pesint 8 (2) join their teachers and sponsors in a group photo.
KUALA LUMPUR: The ‘Activ Jam Senam Aerobik’ – a national mass aerobics exercise competition presented by Milo through its ‘Aktif Negaraku’ campaign, in partnership with the Ministry of Education (MoE) – engages two million school-goers a year, or 16,000 a day.
It is also the result of ‘1Murid 1Sukan’ (One Student, One Sport) – a training programme meant to equip teachers with sports skills and knowledge towards elevating the status of ‘senam aerobik’ (aerobic exercise) as a competitive sport set to motivate students to stay active.
A total of 5,120 teachers have been trained under this programme since it kicked off in 2015.
Members of a participating school team show their energetic ‘senam aerobik’ moves during the competition.
“The ‘senam aerobik’ embodies the true spirit of sports that anybody, anywhere regardless of age, athletic ability or access to resources, should be able to enjoy sports.
“A fun and easy way to stay active, when performed together as a team, the ‘senam aerobik’ promotes unity, teamwork, discipline, creativity and sportsmanship – all of which are positive values that can be nurtured through our belief that sport is a great teacher,” said Kumaran Nowuram, the executive director of Milo & Milks Business Unit of Nestlé (Malaysia) Bhd, in a press statement.
Acknowledging the critical role of MoE in supporting Milo’s sports programmes, he said the partnership with the ministry over the past 40 years had enabled them to create more platforms to engage students through sports and also provide the resources meant to mould student athletes and raise champions.
“We hope to strengthen this partnership moving forward, as we continue to make Malaysians active and healthy and inspire them to grow with sports.”
Meanwhile, MoE’s Co-curriculum and Arts Division director of sports Zainal Abas regarded the public-private partnerships, such as the one exemplified by Milo in leading grassroots sports development, as integral to the ministry’s effort in cultivating a culture of sporting excellence at school.
“It allows us to find new ways to make sports accessible for all and it also introduces programmes such as the ‘Activ Jam Senam Aerobik’ movement, which offers students a creative outlet to thrive.
“We look forward to scaling it up further in our effort to encourage an active lifestyle and the participation of every student in at least one sport, as outlined by the ‘1Murid 1Sukan’ policy,” he said.
The ‘Activ Jam Senam Aerobik’ recently returned for the second year to honour the country’s best ‘senam aerobik’ teams.
The competition was Open to primary school-children across the country, it hosted two categories.
The ‘School’ category comprised a total of 10 teams, all shortlisted from an extensive nationwide search; the 16 State Education Department (JPN)-based teams competed in the ‘Muhibbah’ category at the grand finals held over two days.
SK Putrajaya Pesint 8 (2) from Putrajaya topped the ‘School’ category over respective runners-up SK Kampung Contoh, Sabah and SK Jasin, Melaka.
In the ‘Muhibbah’ category, JPN Melaka emerged winner, with JPN Labuan and JPN Terengganu placing respective second and third.
The winner of each category took home prizes worth RM5,000, while the respective runners-up received sports equipment worth RM4,000 and RM3,000.
The competition was part of a larger ‘senam aerobik’ movement activated by Milo through its strategic partnership with the MoE under the ‘1Murid 1Sukan’ initiative.
The ministry also joined other partners of Milo’s sports programmes recently, to galvanise more Malaysians into the ‘Aktif Negaraku’ movement, which consolidated all Milo’s sports programmes including ‘Milo Hidup Bola’, ‘Milo Champions Clinic’ and ‘Milo Activ Jam Senam Aerobik’, under one banner.