PM: Rio a stepping stone for nation's sports industry

KUALA LUMPUR: Acknowledging sports as a unifying factor in the country, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak has pledged to use the recent achievements in Rio as a stepping stone for the sports industry.
Speaking at the Umno's Olympic and Paralympic athletes awards ceremony here today, Najib said sports has been known to bring the country together and raise the mood and spirit of the nation.
"We want this achievement to be a platform for even greater success in the sports industry.
"We know sports is a unifying factor for our people. Every time I tweet about sports, I receive a huge response. But if I tweet on politics, not so much.
"If we develop sports even further, the mood and sentiment of the nation will be even more positive," he said.
Najib added that the success of the athletes were partly due to Umno and Barisan Nasional's policies which, among other things, focuses on sports.
"Hence, as the core of the country's leadership, Umno and BN should be partly credited for anyone who succeeds under its banner," he said.
The country's Rio Olympic and Paralympic contingent recorded their best ever showing at the biggest sports event, with a total tally of three golds, four silvers and two bronzes.
Najib also presented the country's Olympic and Paralympic medalists with cash incentives, contributed by Umno, with RM30,000, RM20,000 and RM10,000 respectively to each gold, silver and bronze medalists.