Minister for Youth, Sports and Entrepreneur Development, Dato Sri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah, said the organisation of SUKSAR serves as an important avenue to identify top athletes who will carry Sarawak’s challenge at the Malaysia Games (SUKMA) 2026, which will be held in Selangor this August.

 

“We hope that with this edition of SUKSAR, we will be able to field the strongest possible team for SUKMA, which will take place in August, God willing, as we know that Sarawak are the defending champions.

 

“This will be a very important SUKMA. We will be heading to Selangor, and Selangor has always been a very, very strong state,” he said.

 

He made these remarks during a press conference after chairing the fourth SUKSAR Meeting at the Baitul Makmur Building here on Friday.

 

He added that SUKSAR also provides early exposure for young Sarawak athletes to a high-performance competitive environment, allowing them to test their physical, mental and tactical capabilities, while nurturing competitiveness and a champion’s mentality from the early stages of athlete development.

 

According to Dato Sri Abdul Karim, SUKSAR also acts as a catalyst in activating sports associations at the zonal and district levels, while continuously enhancing the competency of local technical officials, thereby strengthening the overall ecosystem of sports development in the state.

 

He said this year’s SUKSAR will involve the participation of 257 athletes from four main zones, namely the Northern Zone, Central Zone, Western Zone and Southern Zone, with a total of 11 sports to be contested throughout the games.

 

“For this edition of SUKSAR, the 11 sports include weightlifting, cycling, which covers both mountain biking and road cycling, netball, basketball, karate, table tennis, pétanque, sepak takraw, softball, taekwondo and boxing.

 

“In Betong Division, four sports will be held, namely weightlifting, cycling, netball and taekwondo.

 

“In Sri Aman Division, there will be five sports: basketball, pétanque, table tennis, softball and boxing. Meanwhile, in Lubok Antu, two sports will be contested, namely sepak takraw and karate,” he added.

 

At the same time, he said the hosting of SUKSAR IV in Sri Aman and Betong is expected to have a positive impact on local communities, including stimulating local economic activity, expanding exposure to state-level sports in rural areas, and supporting the development of sports facilities and expertise at the grassroots level.

 

He further explained that a total of 105 gold medals, 105 silver medals and 135 bronze medals will be up for grabs, making the championship a competitive and significant platform for measuring the performance levels of Sarawak’s young athletes.

 

The official opening ceremony of SUKSAR IV 2026 will be held on 4 February at 3.00 pm at the Tan Sri Datuk Amar Stephen Kalong Ningkan Sports Hall, Betong, and will be officiated by the Deputy Premier of Sarawak, Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas.

 

Meanwhile, the closing ceremony is scheduled for 8 February at 3.30 pm at the Indoor Stadium, Sri Aman Sports Complex, and will be officiated by the Premier of Sarawak, Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri (Dr) Abang Abdul Rahman Zohari Tun Datuk Abang Openg.

 

Also present were Deputy Minister for Youth, Sports and Entrepreneur Development Datuk Gerald Rentap Jabu, Betong Division Resident Datu Richard Michael Abu Nawas, Sarawak Public Communication Unit (UKAS) Director Awang Putrayusrie Awang Redzuan, Acting Chief Executive Officer of the Sarawak Sports Corporation Khairul Nizam Morshidi, and other guests. -UKASnews