By Aina Azizah Yeo
KOTA SAMARAHAN: The Sarawak Disabled People Carnival (Kokus) kicked off last Saturday at Unimas Stadium here.
The carnival, organised by Special Olympics Sarawak, saw 576 athletes with disability taking part in several events until Wednesday.
The opening ceremony was graced by Welfare, Community Wellbeing, Women, Family and Childhood Development Minister Datuk Seri Fatimah Abdullah.
She said Kokus aimed to give disabled people an opportunity to participate in healthy, constructive and productive activities.
“This is the first event in Sarawak in which sports, abilympics and culture are held together. In this carnival, there are 10 types of sporting activities, eight types of skills for abilympics and three types of talent showcases for culture.
“At the same time, the public can see the abilities of OKUs (the disabled) in various fields,” she said.
She added that apart from competing in the activities, she hoped all participants would take the opportunity to get to know one another and build networks not only among themselves but with able-bodied people as well and to empower and enjoy themselves.
Fatimah, who is also Special Olympics Sarawak president, said the ministry would always support such activities and for them to be well-trained to take part in future competitions.
She also hoped that people with disability would be able to live a quality life and to not feel left out.
