BY LEONG Z-KEEN
THE Sarawakian government is currently improving the conditions of stadiums in Sarawak for the 21st Malaysia Games (SUKMA).
Deputy Minister of Youth, Sports and Entrepreneur Development Datuk Gerald Rentap Jabu said improvements to the Mukah Stadium are underway for men’s SUKMA football matches.
“For now, the ministry has no plans to build a new indoor stadium, synthetic football field and a hockey field in Mukah.
“However, the available sports facilities like the Mukah Stadium will have its interior refurbished and fixed ahead of time before the football matches,” he said in reply to a question from Royston Valentine (GPS-Tellian) during the question-and-answer session today.
Royston wanted to know about the plans to improve the conditions of the sports facilities in Mukah.
In addition, Rentap also mentioned the government’s plans to fix specific venues for SUKMA.
“Besides that, the government will work closely with the Sarawak Sports Corporation (SSC) in improving and maintaining the facilities of Mukah Indoor Stadium,” he added.
In reply to another supplementary question on the rationality of the Sarawak government to include Mukah as a venue for SUKMA, Rentap said a high level of technical support and accommodation is needed to support the massive number of events being held for this year’s SUKMA.
“There are a total of 37 sports and 488 events throughout the duration of SUKMA and we need to have adequate accommodation to take in more than 15,000 athletes and security guards.
“This is why Mukah was included after considering factors such as sports facilities available, logistics like transportation, places to stay, and support services to give athletes the maximum coverage,” he said.
