S’wak to continue preparing for Para Sukma — Fatimah

KUCHING: Sarawak has yet to received any notice on further postponement of Malaysia Para Games (Para Sukma) in light of the sudden surge of Covid-19 cases in the country.

Welfare, Community WellBeing, Women, Family and Childhood Development Minister Dato Sri Fatimah Abdullah said Sarawak contingent would continue to prepare for the Para Sukma despite the uncertainties, in their bid for a 14th consecutive titles.

“At the moment, there are no changes in the dates for Para Sukma.

“It was initially supposed to be held in July this year but was postponed to March next year,” she told a press conference at Baitulmakmur Building II here yesterday.

The Sarawak contingent chef de mission said the athletes have been training amid the third wave of Covid-19 in strict compliance with the Standard Operating Procedures (SOP).

“They are training individually at their own respective place. What we cannot do is to gather them as a team for centralised training because we need to adhere to the SOP,” she said.

At the moment, there are no changes in the dates for Para Sukma. Dato Sri Fatimah Abdullah

The Para Sukma 2020 and Malaysia Games (Sukma) 2020 in Johor have been postponed due to the pandemic.

Last month, Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Seri Reezal Merican Naina Merican said the Para Sukma would be held first from March 8 to 13 next year while Sukma, which was initially postponed to early March, has been pushed to April 2-10.

The shift was to allow Sukma athletes to sit for their Sijil Tinggi Pelajaran Malaysia (STPM) examinations on March 1-9.