KUCHING: The historic achievement of diver Pandelela Rinong at the Olympic Games in London should be an inspiration for future athletes, says Chief Minister Pehin Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud.
“I am very proud that our ‘anak Sarawak’ has managed to clinch the bronze medal at the Olympics and this amazing achievement should serve as an inspiration to our sportsmen,” he said, adding that
he was confident the 19-year-old had the potential to achieve greater heights.
Taib told reporters this after the launching of the Government Transformation Programme (GTP) Roadmap 2.0 Open Day conducted by Performance Management and Delivery Unit (Pemandu) here yesterday.
He added that efforts to produce a steady flow of athletes from schools, particularly those from rural areas, should be enhanced further.
“I also believe that our very own new state-of-the-art aquatic centre of excellence will be able to train and produce more world class athletes in the likes of Pandelela Rinong.”
He said he would announce a special reward when the athlete returned from the Olympics.
With the achievement, Pandelela will receive RM150,000 under the Youth and Sports Ministry’s incentive scheme and a monthly pension of RM2,000.