MIRI: The Highlanders Sports Carnival has the potential to enhance the skills of young Sarawakian athletes, enabling them to shine on both the national and international sports arena.
In light of this, Deputy Minister in the Sarawak Premier’s Department (Labour, Immigration and Project Monitoring) Datuk Gerawat Gala said the Highlanders Sports Club can work with the national sports body to identify and develop promising talent from Sarawak.
“The club can help to identify and establish connections with various sports academies such as the Malaysian Football Academy, the Bukit Jalil Sports Academy, or foreign colleges and universities that offer scholarships for outstanding young athletes.
“This would enable the athletes to pursue higher education or receive training to develop into professional sportsmen and sportswomen,” he said when speaking at the 24th Highlanders Sports Carnival closing dinner here recently.
On a related note, he said organising a carnival requires a lot of funding, especially when it is held at the national level.
“For this year’s carnival, I announced that the Minor Rural Project (MRP) fund of RM 25,000 be allocated to the Highlanders Sports Club. This financial support will aid them in organising activities such as the carnival,” he said.
Meanwhile at the same event, Deputy Minister of Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts Datuk Sebastian Ting also responded to Gerawat’s call by donating RM10,000 to the club.
Earlier, during the three-day carnival that took place from June 1, a total of eight contingents participated. These contingents included representatives from Kuala Lumpur, Kota Kinabalu, as well as various contingents from Sarawak.
At the closing ceremony, three main awards were also presented, namely ‘Most Promising and Upcoming Sport Talent,’ which was won by Adam Hendry and Kezia Kyreen Kennedy for their outstanding performances in golf; the Best Sports Achievement Award (Gavin Ghia Mattu for Muay Thai, Sheringham Saging Leju for kayaking, Aaron Liser for archery, and Abigail Kedung Pearson for golf); the ‘Hall of Fame’ Award (Mary Weng for her achievements in hockey and Cheyenne Morris for bodybuilding.
