SBA receives CMS sponsorship boost

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Isaac (third right) hands over the mock cheque to Abdul Aziz while Zaidi (second right), Hadi and others look on.

KUCHING: The Sarawak Badminton Association (SBA) has signed a five-year sponsorship deal with Cahya Mata Sarawak Berhad (CMS) which will run until 2025 with a total amount of RM600,000.

This was announced by SBA president Tan Sri Datuk Amar Abdul Aziz Husain in a press statement issued to the local media yesterday.

“We would like to record our appreciation to CMS which has committed the total sponsorship of RM600,000 to become SBA’s main sponsor for the next five years and it is for organising of our local events and activities,” said Abdul Aziz on the sponsorship which is the first of its kind to be received by the association.

Under the sponsorship deal, CMS will be giving RM120,000 annually to SBA which is to fund the series of activities including tournaments in the association’s calendar of events especially aimed at junior players to be held here and later to be extended to other divisions.

“CMS will now become the main title sponsor of our upcoming events and we are grateful for their sponsorship because it comes at the right timing especially now when most sports associations including us are affected by the recent Covid-19 pandemic,” Abdul Aziz said on the sponsorship which can be seen as the start of a new era for badminton in Sarawak.

According to him, the staging of upcoming badminton tournaments including those for junior players is forced to be held on a smaller scale in order to comply with the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) set by the authorities including Sarawak Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) and Ministry of Health (MoH) that are aimed to prevent the spread of Covid-19 during sports events.

“We will be working closely with the State Education Department and the participating schools’ authorities on this matter whereby the tournament venues can also be held at the school halls apart from having it at our SBA Hall in Jalan Lapangan Terbang, Kuching,” he said.

The association was also grateful to CMS for the long-term sponsorship deal which will give the state’s junior badminton development programme a timely shot in the arm especially when the world is still recovering from the pandemic.

“With the sponsorship, we can still continue with our junior badminton development programme which is still being conducted with the assistance from Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) especially where coaching is concerned,” said Abdul Aziz who is also BAM deputy president.

Meanwhile, CMS Group managing director Dato Isaac Lugun said CMS is excited to play a part in the development of badminton in the state especially among the youth.

He is aware that Abdul Aziz and his team at SBA had a clear plan on youth development in the state and CMS is looking forward to help see the plan coming to fruition.

“Hopefully, the sponsorship will help to steer young Sarawakians to be world beaters and make Sarawak proud,” he said.

Isaac handed over the sponsorship to Abdul Aziz at a ceremony at Grand Margherita Hotel Kuching recently, witnessed by CMS Head of Group of Corporate Services Dr Zaidi Osman and SBA secretary Abdul Hadi Abdul Kadir.