By Nancy Nais
KUCHING, Nov 12: Sarawak will host two major international sports events next year, namely World Para Swimming Championships 2019 and 21st Asia Masters Athletics Championships 2019.
“We are expecting athletes from at least 80 countries worldwide for the two major sporting events with live television coverage. This will give Sarawak wide publicity and media mileage,” said Tourism, Arts, Culture, Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah.
Apart from high performance sports, the ministry will implement and monitor community-based sports and recreational activities throughout the state.
“We are also undertaking talent scouting and development of sport talents to promote active participation among the various strata of the community,” Abdul Karim said during his winding up speech in the State Legislative Assembly today.
He opined that this can enhance racial harmony, as well as promote healthy lifestyles among the people in line with the concept of ‘Sarawak Cergas’.
“This is the ultimate effort by the state government to curb and combat numerous social ills that may plague our local communities by involving them actively in healthy physical activities that are being organised strategically both in rural and urban areas.”
Apart from promoting sports as a healthy lifestyle, the ministry will look into promoting and developing Sarawak as one of the most preferred eco-adventure sports destination in Asia.
Abdul Karim said not only it will generate additional revenue for Sarawak through sports tourism, but such events can also create greater economic opportunities for local entrepreneurs.
In the working towards this, the ministry encourages more local entrepreneurs to participate actively by becoming sponsors of outdoor events such as the Similaju Nature Challenge, Sarawak Adventure Race, Baleh-Kapit Raft Safari, Pakan Rafting Challenge, Ulu Baram White Water Rafting event and many more events which are held annually in Sarawak. — DayakDaily
