PENAMPANG: Penampang Member of Parliament Datuk Ewon Benedick presented incentives and tokens of appreciation to athletes, coaches, managers and officials of the Sabah Games (SAGA) 2025 Penampang District contingent who took part in the tournament held in Tawau last October.
In the championship, the SAGA Penampang team secured a total of 45 medals.
Athletes received cash incentives of RM1,000 for each gold medal, RM700 for each silver medal and RM500 for each bronze medal. The incentives were contributed by leaders within the Penampang parliamentary constituency and channelled through the Penampang Municipal Council.
Ewon, who is also Deputy Chief Minister III and State Minister of Industrial Development, Entrepreneurship and Transport, said the incentives were a form of appreciation for the athletes’ efforts and achievements, and expressed hope that they would serve as motivation for continued sporting excellence in the future.
“As the Member of Parliament for Penampang, I hope this incentive will further spur athletes, coaches and managers to continue bringing honour to Penampang through sports,” he said.
He also expressed appreciation to all leaders who supported the SAGA Penampang team.
Ewon said the medal haul should serve as motivation for other teams participating in future sporting events, including the next Sabah Games scheduled to be held in Sandakan.
At the same time, he stressed the need to improve sports facilities and infrastructure in Penampang, following feedback from coaches and managers of several sports, including karate, taekwondo, basketball and badminton, on the lack of suitable training facilities.
He said the absence of safe and functional community halls has made training sessions difficult for certain sports, and that the matter would be brought to the district action committee level for further attention.
“With improved sports facilities, I believe Penampang will be better prepared to host the Sabah Games or other sporting events in the future,” he said.
