K’gau, Tambunan athletes show great potential: Jeffrey
Published on: Saturday, February 17, 2024
By: Johan Aziz
Deputy Chief Minister I Datuk Seri Dr Jeffrey Kitingan
KENINGAU: Deputy Chief Minister I Datuk Seri Dr Jeffrey Kitingan hopes that Keningau and Tambunan athletes will be more committed and enthusiastic to do their best at the Sabah Games (Saga) to be held in Tawau soon.
“More gold is better for us and I hope Keningau and Tambunan will be number one at the Saga competition in Tawau,” he said at a media conference after the Saga 2023 Appreciation Ceremony held at KRK Kampung Samalang here on Friday.
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He said, Friday’s ceremony was to appreciate the athletes of this district and Tambunan where the athletes who get gold medals are given an incentive of RM1,000 so that they will do their best in the future.
Dr Jeffrey said, in Saga 2023, Keningau won 18 gold medals and emerged the runners-up out of 27 districts in Sabah that competed while Tambunan won 10 gold medals and ranked sixth. “I hope that from these encouragements and appreciation, they are more committed to doing their best and I believe that from this Saga, three records were also broken and this indicates that Keningau and Tambunan have athletes who have the big potential to represent Sabah at the national and international competitions,” he said.
He also wants the athletes, coaches and managers from these two districts to be given appreciation for the achievements in Saga 2023.
Earlier in his speech, Dr Jeffrey also expressed his pride at the achievements of the Saga athletes last year for both districts, Keningau and Tambunan.
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Dr Jeffrey who is also the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Industry said, all this will not be achieved without systematic training by coaches who are very committed in training all athletes, not forgetting the role of team managers and parents who always give encouragement to their children.
“This means that these two districts are not short of potential athletes and I hope that in the coming year there will be better achievements and raise the name of these two districts as a district that produces a lot of athletes to represent Sabah at a higher level of sports such as the SEA Games, the Commonwealth Games and then to the world level,” he said.
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The Keningau Member of Parliament said all this is not impossible to achieve, with organised and systematic training, authoritative coaches and encouragement from parents and surely the two districts will produce more successful athletes. “As I had announced during the Flag Handing Ceremony on December 12 last year at the KBS Keningau Hall, I will give an award to the athletes who managed to get gold medals.
“The purpose of this award ceremony is as an incentive to the athletes to work harder to remain successful and then obtain a gold medal in the Saga.
“With this award, I hope that the athletes, coaches, managers and parents feel that the achievements of these athletes are appreciated,” he said.
Also present at the ceremony was Assistant Minister of Works Datuk Robert Tawik, Keningau District Officer Peter Jonu Moinjil, Tambunan District Officer Sabitun Makajil, District Police Chief Supt Yampil Anak Garai, Keningau District Education Officer Johari @ Jaibet Sabin, representative of Tambunan District Education Officer, Alfred, Keningau and Tambunan Ministry of Youth and Sports Officers, government officers, officials from the Keningau Parliament People’s Service Centre and the Tambunan People’s Representative Office, Saga athletes, managers, coaches and parents.
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