By Shikin Louis
KOTA SAMARAHAN, Aug 23: The Sarawak government will ensure that all team members who win medals at the 21st Malaysian Games (Sukma) will receive no less than RM1,000 in cash incentives, with the State topping up the remainder for those falling short of this amount.
Sarawak Minister of Youth, Sports and Entrepreneur Development (MYSED) Dato Sri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah said the Sarawak government has formulated a reward system where each Sarawakian athlete who receive gold, silver and bronze medals in team competitions, will receive no less than RM1,000.
“For example, if there are three athletes in a team who won a gold medal, they will receive a cash incentive of RM15,000. When split evenly, each person will receive RM5,000.
“In the case of a futsal event where the Sarawak team has over 10 people and they had just won the silver medal, they will receive RM5,000 as a team.
“If they split the cash prize between 10 members, each person will receive only RM500. From here, the Sarawak government will top up their individual amount so that each person will receive no less than RM1,000,” he told reporters after the medal presentation ceremony for men’s futsal event held at Kota Samarahan Indoor Stadium here today.
At the same time, Abdul Karim stated that Sarawak has initially set her eyes on 70 gold medals to emerge as overall champion of Sukma 2024.
However, he acknowledged that the overall champion title could still be snatched away, despite Sarawak surpassing the 70-gold mark as the Federal Territories is now steadily catching up.
“We still have about 40 more gold medals but both Sarawak and the Federal Territories will not sweep all the gold. The distribution of gold medals will be split.
“However, to attain the gold medal is not easy as Sarawak only has about four more gold prospects,” he added.
As of press time, Sarawak is leading the medal tally at 71 gold medals, with the Federal Territories closing in at 68 and Selangor in third with 50.
On Aug 16, Premier of Sarawak Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg has announced that the Sarawak government will award cash incentives to athletes, with each gold medal netting them RM15,000, followed by RM5,000 for silver and RM3,000 for bronze. — DayakDaily
