By William Isau
SIBU, Oct 8: Tokoh Sukan recipient Dr Gregory Hii welcomes the allocation of RM332 million for sports development nationwide under Budget 2023, which was tabled on Friday (Oct 7).
Of the amount, RM145 million was earmarked for the maintenance, upgrading, and building of sports facilities.
However, he was sad to see existing facilities have become dilapidated due to lack of maintenance.
“We must therefore develop an efficient culture of constant maintenance as it becomes more expensive when massive damage sets in due to delayed upkeep,” he said.
As for the Central Region, he said work is being put in to develop its sports sector and attract foreign athletes to elevate it into a place where international sporting events can take place.
“It has benefits in uplifting our local (sports) standards and bringing in tourism-related businesses,” he said.
However, he said, this is hampered by the lack of air accessibility to the area.
Therefore, Hii appealed to the authorities to focus on air accessibility as a major thrust for the Central Region by developing more air linkages starting with direct flights from Singapore and Pontianak (Indonesia) to Sibu.
He believed that better air accessibility could transform Sibu into a more “vibrant city-in-the-making”. — DayakDaily
