By DayakDaily Team
KUCHING, May 31: Minister for Youth, Sports, and Entrepreneur Development Sarawak Dato Sri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah has given his assurance that his ministry will not allow the internal dispute in the Sarawak Badminton Association (SBA) to hinder the development of the sport in the State and that a contingency plan will be activated if the dispute remains unresolved.
According to the Sarawak Public Communication Unit (UKAS), Abdul Karim stated that his ministry is working to find a solution to the ongoing internal dispute within the association, which has escalated to the courts.
He said that should the situation fail to improve, a contingency plan will be activated.
“If the situation does not progress as we hope, and if (Sarawak’s) badminton (performance) is affected and we are unable to further develop the sport due to internal issues among the members, then we will have another contingency plan to resolve the matter and start afresh,” he said.
He said this to reporters during his visit to the Sarawak International Youth Football Championship 2025 (SIYFC25) at the Sarawak Stadium today.
Abdul Karim, who is also the Minister for Tourism, Creative Industry, and Performing Arts Sarawak, said that at this stage of the dispute, the main approach is to encourage dialogue among all parties involved to reach a resolution.
“The best way to resolve issues is to sit together and try to find a good solution. That’s what I am trying to do,” he said.
He also acknowledged that the internal crisis could disrupt athlete development, training programmes, and efforts to nurture upcoming badminton talent in Sarawak.
The SBA crisis reportedly began last year following a rift among its top committee members, which eventually led to a court case. — DayakDaily
