KUCHING, Sept 4: Sarawak Badminton Association (SBA) recently signed a five-year sponsorship deal with Cahya Mata Sarawak Berhad (CMS) which will run until 2025 with a total amount of RM600,000.00.
The announcement on the sponsorship was made by SBA President Tan Sri (Dr) Abdul Aziz Husain in a press statement today.
“We would like to record our appreciation to CMS which has committed the total sponsorship of RM600,000.00 to become SBA’s main sponsor for the next five years and it is for organising of our local events and activities,” said Abdul Aziz.
Under the sponsorship agreement, CMS will be giving RM120,000 annually to SBA which is to fund the series of activities including tournaments in the association’s calendar of events especially aimed at junior players to be held in Kuching and later to be extended to other divisions.
“CMS will now become the main title sponsor of our upcoming events and we are grateful for their sponsorship because it comes at the right timing especially now when most sporting associations including us are affected by the recent Covid-19 pandemic,” Abdul Aziz said, adding that the sponsorship is seen as the start of a new age for badminton in Sarawak.
According to him, the staging of upcoming badminton tournaments including those for junior players is forced to be held on a smaller scale in order to comply with the standard operating procedure (SOP) set by the authorities including those set by Sarawak Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) and Ministry of Health (MoH) that are aimed to prevent the spread of Covid-19 virus during sports events.
“We will be working closely with the State Education Department and the participating schools’ authorities on this matter whereby the tournament venues can also be held at the school halls apart from having it at our SBA hall in Jalan Lapangan Terbang, Kuching,” he enthused.
The association is also grateful to CMS for the long-term sponsorship deal which will give the State’s junior badminton development programme a timely shot in the arm especially when the world is still recovering from the Covid-19 pandemic.
“With the sponsorship, we can still continue with our junior badminton development programme which is still being conducted with the assistance from Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) especially where coaching is concerned,” Abdul Aziz who is also one of BAM’s deputy presidents added.
Meanwhile, CMS group managing director Datuk Isaac Lugun said they are excited to play a part in the development of badminton in the state especially among the youth.
“We are aware that Abdul Aziz and his team in SBA has a clear plan on youth development in the state and CMS is looking forward to help see the plan coming to fruition. Hopefully the sponsorship will help to steer young Sarawakian talent to be a world beater and make Sarawakians proud,” Isaac said.—DayakDaily
