Adenan believes Sarawak can emerge as Sukma champion

KUCHING: Sarawak Chief Minister Tan Sri Adenan Satem believes that Sarawak can emerge as the champion of the 18th Malaysia Games (Sukma).
He said Sarawak had once succeeded in becoming the champion on three occasions consecutively in 1990, 1992 and 1994 and thus it is not impossible for the state to repeat the success.
He said this in his speech when opening the 18th Sukma at the Sarawak Stadium, Petra Jaya, here tonight.
Adenan said Sarawak would become a friendly host but will not give way to the rivals in the arena.
Earlier, Sarawak Youth, Sports and Solidarity Minister Datuk Seri Michael Manyin Jawong said the Chief Minister had set a target for Sarawak to win 72 gold medals, and thus emerge as the 18th Sukma Champion.
The number of gold medals is the same as the number of seats won by the Barisan Nasional (BN) in the last state election.
Meanwhile, Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said many national athletes who had carved a name at the international arena started to develop their talents by participating in the Malaysia Games.
He said the commitment and determination of the state government in becoming the main mover of the biennial games was crucial in strengthening the determination of the young athletes to demonstrate their talents before moving on to the international arena.
He perceived that the 18th Malaysia Games (18th Sukma) clearly demonstrated the strong commitment of the state government to ensure its success in unearthing new talents who would later become sports legends.
He said that with the assistance of the federal government, besides developing new stadiums for several sporting events here, Sarawak was also actively raising the standard of the existing stadium especially for Sukma, as well as for the development of sports in the country.
"... I cannot think that other states, apart from Sarawak can lead our mission in bringing glory to the nation through sports," he said at the opening ceremony. — Bernama