As part of efforts to empower Malaysian youth through sports, the Malaysia Olympians Association (MOA), in collaboration with Heriot-Watt University Malaysia (HWUM) has launched a new MOA logo and “The Spirit of Olympism 2023” fundraising campaign in i-City, Shah Alam on Feb 11, 2023.
The event was graced by Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh, together with MOA president Noraseela Mohd Khalid, HWUM provost and chief executive officer Prof Mushtak Al-Atabi, HWUM Student Association president Ilya Sulaiman Dali and Haruka Bakery founder KC Lee.
Among the Olympians and sports personalities present were M. Kumaresan (cycling), Ong Ewe Hock (badminton), Stephen Van Huizen (hockey), Johnathan Wong (shooting) and Alex Goh Shaw Peng (marathon).
In her speech, Yeoh said: “We should always aim to empower youth through sports as this can encourage social transformation and contribute to nation building.
“Sports can also be a catalyst for purpose-driven leadership and I understand that this is the reason MOA collaborated with the students of Heriot-Watt University Malaysia as it is an institution that has positive education at its core, which is aimed at cultivating purpose-driven leadership among youth.”
Yeo also pledged RM20,000 in support of MOA programmes to help the Olympian communities.
She presented prizes to the winners of the “Most-Inspired Logo Designer” competition organised by MOA for HWUM students.
The first prize winner of the MOA logo design competition went to first-year statistical data science student Vincent Lay who received RM300 cash from MOA, RM800 worth of Haruka Bakery vouchers, HWUM jacket, UniWatt stress ball and a badminton racket.
MOA president Noraseela, an Olympian and former national athlete, said, “We hope that the fundraising campaign will help us raise awareness about promoting the role of sports in nation-building as well as building national sentiment, where Malaysians from all walks of life are connected by a common sense of purpose.”
She added, “We also hope to promote sports excellence with lifelong values such as teamwork, ethics and sportsmanship. Most importantly, to encourage youth participation in sports by developing and inculcating the spirit of Olympism.”
HWUMSA president Ilya Sulaiman Dali said, “We are honoured to contribute to MOA’s mission to inspire youth to pursue greatness and spread goodwill through sports and education. Through this cooperation, we have acquired some resilience-building qualities such as the value of perseverance, leadership and teamwork, all of which are crucial for us to take humility to the next level.”
Yeoh and Noraseela presented the special campaign flag to marathon runner Alex Goh who will cycle from Shah Alam to Johor Bahru to raise awareness about MOA, raise funds and spread the Olympism spirit.
The cycling event which kicked off from Feb 11 to 18, 2023 is aimed at garnering participation of cyclists from around the nation. The cycling journey will include multiple stops and activities in Selangor, Negeri Sembilan, Melaka and Johor.
