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SIBU, July 11: A person with intellectual disability, Agnes Tiong, 14, has brought pride to the country and state by winning two bronze medals at the recent Special Olympics World Games 2023 in Berlin, Germany.
“What she has achieved is a milestone for her career as an athlete. To be able to compete at world level is the dream of every athlete. To us, she is really great as we know she had a lot of challenges to overcome,” said Women, Childhood and Community Wellbeing Development Minister Datuk Seri Fatimah Abdullah.
Tiong’s medals came from table-tennis single and double events.
Speaking at a brief ceremony to present an appreciation certificate to Agnes for her feat, Fatimah said Agnes had shown that with fighting spirit one could achieve what one aims for.
“It is not easy to reach the world level as you need to pass through school, division, state, and national levels first. She achieved that with strong support from her mother Chua Hong Bing and coach Mary Chung,” she said.
She also called on the Federal government through the Youth and Sports Development Ministry to give incentives and recognition to all the Sarawak para-athletes who represented Malaysia for their achievements at the recent Para-Asian Games in Cambodia.
Meanwhile, she said Tiong’s mother, Chua Hong Bing deserved monthly assistance from the government as she is a single-mother taking care of three children.
Chua, a kindergarten clerk, is also a former Sarawak Sukma taekwondo athlete.
“It is already difficult to raise a child, and tougher if we have children with disabilities. She is entitled to monthly assistance though Agnes is receiving hers monthly,” said Fatimah.
Also present was the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry Noriah Ahmad. — DayakDaily
