By Chris Bishop
KUCHING, Aug 26: The payment of cash incentives for Sarawak athletes who have won medals at the 21st Malaysian Games (Sukma) will be made on Sept 14.
Sarawak Minister of Youth, Sports, and Entrepreneur Development (MYSED) Dato Sri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah said the cash incentives will be presented at an appreciation ceremony in Kuching.
“I was informed last night that the Premier of Sarawak (Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg) wants the appreciation ceremony to be held as soon as possible.
“He (Premier) is very busy in the near future; he has a work trip to Australia. We only have September 14 free and I have instructed for preparations to be made,” he said at a press conference in Kuching today.
On Aug 16, Abang Johari announced that the Sarawak government will award cash incentives to her athletes who win medals at Sukma 2024, netting them RM15,000 for gold, followed by RM5,000 for silver, and RM3,000 for bronze.
Meanwhile, Abdul Karim stated that the Sarawak government has formulated a reward system where they will top up the cash incentive for each athlete who receives gold, silver, and bronze medals in team competitions.
He cited an example of a team of 12 athletes who will only receive hundreds of ringgits each if they win a silver medal.
“The system is based on a 3:2:1 formula, which means that the team that won gold medals cannot receive less than RM3,000 per person, silver team medallists not less than RM2,000 per person, and the bronze team medallists not less than RM1,000 per person.
“For example, a team of 12 athletes who won a silver medal will receive an incentive worth RM5,000. After they split the incentive, each of them will receive only hundreds of ringgits, so the Sarawak government will top up the individual amount so that each of them receives RM2,000,” he added. — DayakDaily
