BINTULU: The Sarawak Special Olympics (SO) contingent made history when it was crowned the overall champion of the 6th Special Olympics Malaysia Games Sarawak 2026, thus strengthening the state's dominance in the national inclusive sports arena.

Sarawak was not only crowned the Best Team, but also managed to collect 56 gold medals, 68 silver and 52 bronze medals, as a result of consistent performance throughout the tournament held here from 24 to 26 April.

The success was also supported by the dominance of the host contingent in almost all the events contested when out of the eight events, the Sarawak SO won seven of them, namely track and field, swimming, bocce, table tennis, bowling, badminton and basketball, while only the football event was won by the Kedah SO.

Sarawak Minister for Women, Early Childhood and Community Wellbeing Development (KPWK) Dato Sri Fatimah Abdullah said that this achievement not only proves the excellence of the athletes, but also reinforces the message that persons with disabilities (OKU), especially individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD), are capable of achieving high levels of performance once given a fair opportunity.

She stressed that the development of OKU needs to be based on equality, justice and inclusion, and is not just symbolic by providing access to education, health, sports and community support to ensure that this group is not marginalised.

She added that inclusivity efforts must start from the beginning through educational approaches such as ‘No One Left Behind’, in addition to being strengthened through health programmes such as ‘Healthy Athletes’ which provide screening and follow-up treatment for athletes.

Also present were KPWK Deputy Ministers Datuk Rosey Yunus and Datuk Mohammad Razi Sitam, President and Group Chief Executive Officer of Bintulu Port Holdings Berhad Dato Ruslan Abdul Ghani, Deputy Chairman of the Bintulu Development Board Dato Haidar Khan Asghar Khan, KPWK Permanent Secretary Nur Alina Abdullah and President of Special Olympics Malaysia Bong Koi Sin. -UKASnews