By DayakDaily Team
SELANGOR, Aug 24: Sarawak Minister of Youth, Sports, and Entrepreneur Development Dato Sri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah has called for the State contingent to compete in more events in upcoming editions of the Malaysia Games (Sukma) to boost medal chances.
In a Sarawak Public Communication Unit (Ukas) report, he said that Sarawak’s performance across all sports at the 22nd Malaysia Games (Sukma) Selangor 2026 will undergo a post-mortem review to identify strengths, address weaknesses, and improve preparations for future editions.
He said one area needing attention was Sarawak’s participation in sports offering many events and medal opportunities.
“When a sport has many events, we need to participate in at least half or, preferably, two-thirds of the events being contested.
“If we only participate in a small portion, before we even enter the pool or step onto the court, we are already at a disadvantage,” he said in his address to the Sarawak Contingent Secretariat ahead of the final day of Sukma 2026 here on Sunday (Aug 23).
Abdul Karim added that aquatic sports were among those that required attention, given the number of events and medal opportunities available.
He said the approach to developing the sport should be reviewed, including coaching expertise across disciplines such as long-distance, middle-distance, and sprint events.
“Based on my years of experience being involved in Sukma, aquatic sports are among the very important sports. We may need to review the approach being taken, including bringing in more coaches with specialised expertise,” he said.
Meanwhile, Abdul Karim expressed his pride in Sarawak’s cycling squad, which secured three gold medals at this year’s Games.
He said the achievement was particularly meaningful to him as he had been actively involved in cycling in the 1970s.
“Previously, I had never seen us win a gold medal in cycling until this year. They did not just deliver one gold medal, but three. It is not easy to win gold in cycling, but our athletes managed to do it,” he said.
At the same time, he praised the strong sense of unity and solidarity displayed by Sarawak’s athletes, officials and supporters throughout the Games.
“We may not be the overall champions, but in terms of solidarity and togetherness, we are the champions,” he said.
He also said Sarawak Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg was pleased with the performance of the Sarawak contingent.
Abdul Karim urged athletes with events remaining to give their best performances to help Sarawak finish the Games in the best possible position.
Also present were his two deputies, Datuk Gerald Rentap Jabu and Datuk Dr Ripin Lamat; Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Youth, Sports, and Entrepreneur Development Dzulkornain Masron; and Sarawak Sports Council director Mu’azamir Jili.
As of 1.32pm today, Sarawak is in fourth place in the Sukma 2026 medal tally with 143 medals comprising 41 gold, 40 silver, and 62 bronze.
In first place is host Selangor with 273 medals (100 gold, 72 silver, 71 bronze), second is the Federal Territories with 157 medals (51 gold, 54 silver, 52 bronze), and third is Terengganu with 121 medals (42 gold, 44 silver, 35 bronze). — DayakDaily
