Equal Emphasis Given To Paralympic Sports: M'sian Youth And Sports Minister

By Ahmad Muliady Abdul Majid PUTRAJAYA (Malaysia), March 28 (Bernama) -- The Youth and Sports Ministry of Malaysia gives equal emphasis in providing facilities for people with disabilities in the effort to create a sporting society, its minister Ahmad Shabery Cheek said. Through the ministry's "Sports for All" initiative, paralympic athletes had been enjoying facilities and programmes like those enjoyed by "normal" athletes, he said. "As national athletes, they are equally eligible to receive assistance like other normal athletes because they too are fighting for the country's honour in sports," he told Bernama in a recent interview. He added that sports development for people with disabilities was not only focused on high-performing athletes but covered the whole differently-abled people in the country. "We are committed to creating more paralympians to ensure there will be a constant pool of athletes in the future," he said. He pointed out that the government's commitment in developing paralympic sports could be seen in the implementation of the National Paralympic Centre project in Kampung Pandan (Kuala Lumpur), which will be completed soon. "When this is completed, Malaysia will become the first country in the region to have sports facility for this group," he said. The centre, costing US$13.03 million (RM40 million), is equipped with accommodation, cafeteria, gymnasium, archery range, multipurpose hall and training hall for use by national as well as state paralympians, he said, adding that Malaysia learned several new things from China, a paralympic powerhouse, in managing and developing the sport. One of the criteria of a developed nation, Ahmad Shabery said, was how a country provided for its disabled people. "In Malaysia, we are going in that direction." At the Asean Paralympic Games in Solo, Indonesia, last year, the national contingent won 51 gold, 35 silver and 42 bronze medals. -- BERNAMA