KUCHING, Feb 14 — The Ministry of Women, Childhood and Community Wellbeing Development wants to see Special Olympics Sarawak programmes extended to all regions of the state to provide opportunities for more individuals with intellectual disabilities to join the sports.
Its minister Datuk Sri Fatimah Abdullah said the Special Olympics Sarawak, which was inaugurated in 1998, is presently held only in Kuching, Miri and Sibu.
“Games introduced are ten-pin bowling, bocce, floor hockey, athletics (track and field) and aquatics (swimming), football and badminton.
“To further empower our people with special needs, I hope the Special Olympics Sarawak will be brought to all regions of the state to provide opportunities for others in other parts of Sarawak to join in the sports activities,” she said when closing an OKU (Persons with Disabilities) Empowerment Workshop at a boutique hotel here yesterday.
Her text of speech was read out by Assistant Minister of Women, Childhood and Community Wellbeing Development (Community Wellbeing Development), Mohamad Razi Sitam.
Fatimah said based on the 2021 Census, there were 830 athletes, 100 unified partners and 100 coaches from Special Olympics Sarawak.
She noted that the Special Olympics Sarawak kicked off unified sports including unified soccer, unified bocce and unified badminton in 2015, with unified floorball as the newest introduced.
“Unified sports put people with an intellectual disability (athlete) and someone without any intellectual disability (unified partner) on the same team.
“It was inspired by a simple principle — training and playing together is a quick path to friendship and understanding. It makes practices more fun and games more challenging and exciting for all,” she said.
Through unified sports, she said every player was given a chance to contribute to the success of the team through individual’s unique skills and qualities.
According to her, Special Olympics Sarawak has been actively organising various games.
She said it hosted the Borneo Cup for football in Kuching in 2018 which saw participants from Sabah, Labuan, Brunei and Kalimantan.
She added that the Special Olympics Kuching Chapter also hosted the State Games in 2018 at the Universiti Sarawak Malaysia (Unimas) campus in Kota Samarahan near here, recording over 800 participants across Sarawak.
“One of the major events of Special Olympics Sarawak is the biennial State Games where several hundred athletes get to meet and compete.
“This year seems to be promising with planning on the way for State Games to be held in Sibu in June while the National Games are scheduled for July 22 for bowling and swimming in Selangor as well as from Aug 25 to 27 for bocce, badminton, track and field and table tennis in Melaka,” pointed out Fatimah.
She said the games offered opportunities for people with special needs to develop their talents and potentials so as to give a boost to their self-esteem.
She added that it would also allow the rest of the society to see what people with special needs can do.
“In other words, we do not see their disabilities but find ways to develop their abilities and potentials in doing what they can do well.
“Our people with special needs who have talents and interest in sports can develop their potentials if given the opportunity to compete with other athletes.
“Participating in games gives them an opportunity to explore new experiences and prepare themselves for bigger sports events like Paralympic Games, Borneo Cup, state and international games,” she said.
Among those present were Sarawak Welfare director Noriah Ahmad and Special Olympics Kuching Chapter president Datin Dayang Mariani Abang Zain. — Borneo Post
