SANDAKAN: 1,100 participants participated in the Run for Peace by Soka Gakkai Malaysia at the Sports Complex Stadium, here, Sunday.
Sandakan is one of the five locations to host the event with the participation of more than 8,000 participants in each location in Tawau, Lahad Datu, Kota Kinabalu and Labuan since July 2.
Despite the rain, the 7.7km run kicked off at 5.30am, went smoothly with the traffic police, Rela personnel and staff from the non-governmental organisation (NGO) on hand to help with monitoring efforts.
An aerobic event made the event lively and was officiated by the Sandakan Area Health Officer, Dr. Johari Awang Besar.
Also present were the Deputy Chairman of Soka Gakkai Malaysia (SGM) Sabah and the Chairman of Soka Gakkai Malaysia Sandakan Branch, Harry Tong King Yun, Sandakan District Police Chief, ACP Abdul Fuad Abdul Malek together with his Deputy, Supt. Mohd Hamizi Halim as well as the Coordinator of Run For Peace 2023 Sandakan district, Sim Chee Vui.
Speaking at the event, he hoped it will help increase awareness on the importance of sustainable development and the culture of peace and unity among the diverse backgrounds of the Malaysian citizens.
In addition, the biannual programme is a non-competitive event that was organised by SGM since 2005 in Selangor. Initially, the participants for the event was approximately 1,500 people and had since expanded to other states.
In 2019, the event was successfully expanded to 28 locations nationwide with the participation of 115,000 runners.
