KUCHING, Aug 8 (Bernama) -- Awe-inspiring stories highlighting sportsmanship in conquest and defeat and human interest stories unfurling throughout the Olympic Games in Paris should inspire media practitioners to produce interesting articles when the Malaysia Games (SUKMA XXI) 2024 in Sarawak begins on Aug 17.
Datuk Abdullah Saidol, Deputy Minister in the Sarawak Premier’s Office (Corporate Affairs, Information and Sarawak Public Communication Unit Ukas), said the gripping success stories of athletes and the heart-wrenching tales of the vanquished are among the headline-grabbers emerging during the world's biggest sporting event.
“How I wish we can showcase news apart from sports and community, showcase photos or stories about the sporting spirit of young people, athletes from different states who are discovered in the Bumi Kenyalang (Land of the Hornbills),” he said at the ‘Randau Bersama Media’ ceremony in conjunction with SUKMA 2024 here today.
To encourage journalists and photojournalists from Sarawak to produce these interesting articles and photos, he said UKAS will organise a competition for the best articles and photos during SUKMA 2024.
He said both competitions will offer cash prizes of RM2,000 for first place, RM1,000 for second and RM500 for third place.
In the meantime, Abdullah urged the SUKMA 2024 organising committee to provide transport to encourage the mobility of media practitioners covering the sports carnival in the state.
He acknowledged that not all media practitioners will have suitable transport here and hoped that other needs of journalists as well can also be met to facilitate their task.
SUKMA 2024 will officially kick off from Aug 17-24 in nine divisions of Sarawak.
The games involve a total of 37 types of sports and 488 events with the participation of 12,619 athletes and officials and marks the third time Sarawak will be hosting SUKMA after the 1990 and 2016 editions.
-- BERNAMA
