MUKAH: Students have been urged to become agents of change by rejecting the culture of bullying in schools.
Tellian Assemblyman, Royston Valentine, stressed that bullying is not an issue to be taken lightly as it has reached the point of claiming lives.
“Bullying should never happen, especially in schools, to the extent of causing loss of life.
“Therefore, I hope the netball participants will return to their respective schools and serve as anti-bullying ambassadors, reminding their peers that such a culture is a common enemy,” he said.
He mentioned this when officiating at the closing ceremony of the Schools Sports Council (MSS) Netball Championship, held at the Mukah Indoor Stadium on Thursday.
In relation to this, Royston also emphasised self-discipline, pointing out that it was the key foundation for success both in academics and in sports.
On another matter, he called upon the Ministry of Education (MoE) to review the distribution method of annual grants to District Education Offices (PPD) and schools to ease participation in MSS sporting events.
“This is especially important for rural areas that face financial challenges and long travel distances when taking part in tournaments.
“At the Sarawak Government level, we are always committed to ensuring that plans related to student development – whether academic or co-curricular – are properly implemented and run smoothly,” he added.
Earlier, the tournament saw the participation of 31 teams from 11 contingents, namely Mukah, Sarikei, Samarahan, Kapit, Miri, Tabuan Jaya Sports School, Kuching, Sibu, Betong, Bintulu and Limbang.
In the championship, MSS Bintulu emerged as champions in the Under-12 category, followed by MSS Sibu in second place and Kapit in third.
Meanwhile, Tabuan Jaya Sports School clinched the titles in both the Under-15 and Under-18 categories.
In the Under-15 category, MSS Sibu finished second and MSS Bintulu came third, while in the Under-18 category, MSS Kuching secured second place and MSS Miri took third.
