Page 240 - Westport Guide To Malaysia

232 THE SPORTING LIFE - FOREWORD
It gives me great pleasure to introduce the chapter on Malaysian sports. As a keen amateur sportsman in my youth, I understand the amount of dedication and sacrifice required to become a winner in top-class competitive sport. My sincere congratulations go out to every Malaysian who has performed creditably on the world stage.
However, I would also like to point out that successful athletes do not achieve pre-eminence by their own efforts alone. There is a veritable army of people who dedicate their lives to selflessly supporting the sporting dreams of others, from the parents who help to mark out school soccer pitches to the members of the Olympic Council of Malaysia and various other international, national and local sports bodies. They are all volunteers, they are mostly unpaid, frequently unthanked, and yet they keep volunteering, helping and encouraging the dreams and aspirations of our future champions.
Fortunately, Malaysia has a great many of these dedicated and big-hearted people, and we are equally lucky to have a government which has built on this great tradition of volunteerism and gotong royong (communal self-help) to create some of the best sporting facilities in the region, host some of the most prestigious sporting events and develop some of the most advanced training and support programmes.
The best thing about sport in Malaysia, though, is that you don’t have to be an elite athlete to enjoy it. Our golf courses welcome humble hackers, our parks are full of pick-up soccer games, and our Hash House Harriers plunge happily through the jungle come rain or shine (hashing was invented in Malaysia, by the way). If you love sport, you will love Malaysia, and we Malaysians will love you too.
Tan Sri Dato’ Sri Mohamad Norza Zakaria
President of the Olympic Council of Malaysia