By Jaythaleela K
MIRI, March 30: Fifty-nine teams from six countries including Malaysia will be participating in the inaugural ‘Robotic Lego Football’ competition here from April 11-13.
The contest, open to those aged nine to 18, will be held at Bintang Megamall Miri, said Assistant Minister for Tourism, Arts and Culture Datuk Lee Kim Shin.
He said this initiative would not only allow the participants to interact and use purposeful play to be creative, communicate and build but also promote innovative mindsets.
“I believe it is a catalyst for lifelong creativity and success, and learn problem-solving skills in the process,” he told reporters after chairing the organising committee meeting at SMK Chung Hua Miri yesterday.
Lee said the idea for the competition came from SMK Chung Hua Miri. The school was keen to organise it following their success in the World Robotic Competition in Chiang Mai, Thailand, last year, where they finished second runner-up.
Lee said the Sarawak government fully supported this event as it wanted the people to embrace innovative technologies, via robotic competition in this case, and to stimulate students’ imagination in this digital era.
Vietnam would be represented by two teams, Thailand (three), Taiwan (19), China (one), Russia (two) and Malaysia (32) — including three from SM Sains Miri, SMK Chung Hua Miri and Tun Datu Tuanku Haji Bujang College here.
Meanwhile, Lee said he believed this competition would be good for the state’s tourism sector, too.
“We are expecting a huge crowd to witness the competition. It is a good opportunity for our hotel occupancy also,” he said.
Lee said he would get the competition rolling on April 11, while Minister for Tourism, Arts, Culture, Youth and Sports Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah is scheduled to close it on April 13. — DayakDaily
