KUCHING: The Sarawak Government will not allow the ongoing leadership crisis within the Sarawak Badminton Association (SBA) to impede the sport’s development.
Minister of Youth, Sports and Entrepreneur Development, Datuk Seri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah, said his ministry is actively working to resolve the internal dispute, which has escalated to the courts, and is prepared to implement a contingency plan should the situation fail to improve.
“If things do not proceed as we hope, and if badminton is affected and we are unable to develop the sport due to the internal problems among members, then we will activate a contingency plan to resolve the issue and start afresh,” he explained.
He said this when met during his visit to the Sarawak International Youth Football Championship 2025 (SIYFC25) held at Sarawak Stadium today.
Abdul Karim added that the ministry’s main approach for now is to encourage dialogue among all parties involved in SBA to reach an internal resolution.
“The best way to solve this problem is to sit down together and try to find a good solution. That is what I am trying to do,” he said.
He also acknowledged that the association’s internal crisis could disrupt athlete development, training programmes, and efforts to nurture new talent in badminton across Sarawak.
The SBA crisis reportedly began last year following a split among top committee members, which eventually led to legal proceedings.
Commenting further, Abdul Karim stressed that the state government does not want internal disputes to jeopardise the future of athletes or the sports industry as a whole.
