KUCHING: The Sarawak Silambam Association (PSS) held a simple yet meaningful send-off ceremony yesterday afternoon at SMK DPHA Gapor for Sarawak athletes, who will compete in the Silambam National Championships from Sept 13 to 15 in Paya Besar, Lunas, Kedah.
PSS is one of the youngest sports associations introduced in the state, with Silambam itself being relatively new to Sarawak.
Despite this, PSS has proudly represented Sarawak in the Malaysia Games (Sukma) twice, first in 2013 and again in 2024.
“It was in 2024 that fate brought SMK DPHA Gapor to Silambam, with over 40 students forming the core group of supporters for our athletes during the Sukma Games,” said PSS president Penghulu Lucy Lingam.
“We in PSS cannot say thank you enough to SMK Gapor, and today I would like to take this opportunity to say a big thank you to Gapor for your support and strength towards our team last year.”
Lucy also expressed her gratitude to SMK DPHA Gapor principal William Tedong for his vision and foresight in allowing Silambam to flourish at the school.
She highlighted that 154 students from Gapor are now registered as Silambam players, with four of them selected to represent Sarawak at the national championships.
“I am sure that in the future, most, if not all, of the Sarawak athletes for Silambam will originate from SMK Gapor. This is due to the dedication and efforts of the teachers and leaders like your Pengetua here today. Congratulations, Gapor!”
Lucy said the ceremony was also held at SMK Gapor to showcase to Majlis Sukan Negeri (MSN) Sarawak representative Dedia Sarini and Sarawak Sports Corporation (SSC) sports development officer Beatrice Sawin where the “new breed of warriors” are emerging from.
“All this while, we had very few choices when selecting our team members. But now, as you can see, we have over 100 athletes to choose from, which makes our sport stronger and more resilient.”
Before concluding, Lucy wished the Sarawak team and elite athletes the very best.
“Be ambassadors of Sarawak, show the country your discipline, your team spirit, and most importantly, show them that Silambam Sarawak are not mere participants, we are future champions.”
