SHAH ALAM, March 8 (Bernama) -- About 30,000 individuals have so far registered to serve as volunteers for the 2026 Malaysia Games (SUKMA) in Selangor, far exceeding the state’s initial target of 5,000 people.
Selangor Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari said what was most pleasing was that the majority of those who signed up were youngsters, who showed keen interest in being directly involved in making the Aug 15-24 Games a success.
“Preparations for SUKMA are coming along smoothly, and what we are proud of, and find inspiring, is the participation of volunteers… especially the youngsters,” he said after the breaking-of-fast event with Penggerak Belia Selangor dan Mahasiswa at the Menteri Besar’s official residence here today.
Amirudin said the organisers will try to rope in as many of the volunteers as possible to ensure the Games are run more efficiently, systematically and in an orderly manner, adding that training for the volunteers would be held soon to ensure they are ready to help out.
He also said that Selangor is more than 80 per cent ready to host the Games, with the torch run set to begin in May.
He said the upgrading project for the Aquatics Centre, which costs about RM40 million, is currently about 30 to 40 per cent completed, and should be fully ready by June, about two months before the Games begin.
Earlier in his speech, Amirudin said the government has introduced a semi-free education initiative this year for students at state-owned universities.
He said the initiative involves about 4,000 Selangor students pursuing further studies at Universiti Selangor (UNISEL) and Universiti Islam Selangor (UIS), with the state government covering 50 per cent of the tuition fees.
“This means that if their study cost is RM38,000 or RM35,000, they only need to pay RM15,000 to PTPTN (National Higher Education Fund Corporation), as the state government will pay RM15,000 to guarantee the education of young people in the future,” he said.
-- BERNAMA
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