Kota Kinabalu: Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Mohd Noor has praised the State Sukma athletes for their achievement at the biennial games held in Sarawak recently and urged them to work harder in preparation for the next Games.
He said this during a working visit to the Youth and Sports Ministry at Wisma Muis on Thursday.
Sabah only managed to win 29 golds, 36 silvers and 55 bronzes in Sarawak, well short of their 40-gold medal target.
“Although we fell short of the 40-gold target, we have given our best.
“Train harder to do better in the future,” he said.
Para athlete Eddy Bernard was also praised by him for the bronze medal winning performance in the 100-metre sprint at the Paris Paralympics last month.
Hajiji also wants to see an improvement in the training facilities for the State athletes.
“Going forward, I want the Ministry to further improve the standard of sports in Sabah, including refurbishing sports complexes and their facilities to benefit these athletes.”
Meanwhile, he also gave a thumbs up to the Youth and Sports Ministry for its youth and sports development programmes.
“The Youth and Sports Ministry is a vital ministry because of its focus on youth and sports development in the State.”
According to the Ministry’s permanent secretary Datuk Mansor Asun, some 5,500 recipients in various business enterprises throughout the State have benefited from the youth programmes amounting to RM7 million allocated to the Ministry.
“This is an excellent programme and I want emphasis on this programme so that more deserving youths will benefit from it,” said Hajiji.
Also present at the meeting were Finance Minister Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun, Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Ellron Alfred Angin, Rural Development Minister Datuk Jahid Jahim, and State Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation Datuk Ariffin Arif.
