KUCHING, Oct 10: Conferring the title of ‘Dato’ on diving queen Pandelela Rinong is an act above the usual and in a special class of its own, opined Bung Bratak Heritage Association president Dato Peter Minos.
Minos in a statement today, said it was very special and out of the ordinary because the person awarded was just simply extraordinary, a rural Bidayuh girl from a humble family in Kampung Jugan at Bung Bratak, Bau.
“Out of sheer courage and determination, total focus and dedication and real grit, she had brought international honour and glory to not only Sarawak, Malaysia and the Dayaks generally, but to each and every Malaysian.
“Pandelela not only has brought great inspiration to Malaysians everywhere, young and old, but she also has created one singular highly significant message—that with great determination, passion, supreme confidence, total focus and real grit, any Malaysian from whatever background and of whatever race and station in life can and will go to the very top, both nationally and internationally bringing dignity, honour, class and name to all of us in Malaysia and Sarawak,” he said.
According to Minos, as he is also from Bung Bratak, he personally knows Pandelela and still remembers what the diving queen said to him previously, that she want to be the best in the sport of diving to see the world.
“I thought than that she was a little bit too confident for the usually humble and pretty shy Bidayuh girl. I turned out to be very wrong, underestimating her.
“She meant what she said and had done everything in her life and power, in her little body, in getting the very best and the very top, ending up the very best diving queen of Malaysia. Yes, the excellent one that put both Malaysia and Sarawak on the world’s map.
“Congratulations, Pandelela Rinong and love from Bung Bratak where we originally came from,” he added. — DayakDaily
