Be unforgettable
Institutions will be named after para athletes who excel at Asean Games
KUALA LUMPUR: Athletes who obtain outstanding achievements in the Asean Para Games stand to have national welfare centres named after them.
“We cannot top companies that pledge attractive incentives, but we have this idea to name our institutions after the athletes.
“This way, their names will forever be honoured,” Women, Family and Community Develop- ment Minister Datuk Seri Rohani Abdul Karim told the para athletes after meeting them at the Seri Pacific Hotel, which is housing the athletes and officials throughout the Games.
A total of 326 Malaysian para athletes will compete in 16 sports at the Games from Sept 17-23, with an aim of snatching 103 out of the 368 gold medals on offer.
The athletes were in high spirits as they punctuated Rohani’s speech with loud cheers and shouts of “Malaysia Boleh!”.
Speaking against a backdrop featuring the slogan “Team MAS, kami luar biasa (We are out of ordinary)”, Rohani challenged the para athletes to aim for the overall champions position, instead of the second spot as announced by Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin last month.
Thailand are Malaysia’s main contenders.
“This is our home ground. We must go for number one.
“Prove to the athletes from the other 10 participating countries that we can shine,” she said to thunderous applause.
Later, speaking to reporters, Rohani said the ministry had earlier renamed four welfare homes after the four medallists at the 2016 Rio Paralympic Games in Brazil.
They were gold medallists Muhammad Ziyad Zolkefli (shot putt), Abdul Latif Romly (long jump) and Mohamad Ridzuan Mohamad Puzi ( 100m) and bronze medallist Siti Noor Radiah Ismail (long jump).
Rohani also revealed that she had spoken to Khairy on the need for better sports facilities for para athletes.
“The facilities at the Kampung Pandan Sports Complex are inadequate, judging by the sterling performance of para athletes at international sports meets.
“While we can upgrade the Kampung Pandan facilities, a new state-of-the-art stadium would be more suitable to cater to their needs,” she said.
Meanwhile, Malaysia’s chef de mission Datuk Subramaniam Raman Nair said that the para athletes had gathered at the hotel since Sept 3 for motivational talks.
Entry to all Asean Para Games events is free.