2016 Malaysia Para Games

Host city

This Games is the 4th edition of the Malaysia Para Games to follow the rotation system of the Sukma Games host. Sarawak is the host of the 18th Malaysia Para Games.

Since 1986, all states of Malaysia had hosted the Sukma Games except for Kelantan. Prior to the 2016 games, Sarawak had hosted 1990 Sukma Games. The land of hornbill, having hosted the 8th Malaysia Para Games in which it emerged as overall champion, is hosting the games for the second time and many of its facilities were built and upgraded before the 2016 Sukma Games.

Development and Preparation

The Sarawak Sukma Games Organising Committee is the organising committee for the 18th Malaysia Para Games, led by Tan Sri Mohd Morshidi Abdul Ghani and Deputy Minister for Sports Datuk Lee Kim Shin and a secretariat of eight officials and were formed to oversee the staging of the event.

Venues

The 2016 Malaysia Para Games used a mix of new and existing venues. Most venues were existing public-sporting facilities, while others were newly constructed venues. Some retrofitting work were done in venues which are more than a decade old. They were reverted to public use after the games and some had been used to host multi-disciplinary events such as the 1990 Sukma Games and the 2016 Sukma Games.

At the centrepiece of the activities was the upgraded Petra Jaya Sports Complex. Incorporating the 40,000-seat Sarawak Stadium, it hosts most of the events. A games village was not built, instead athletes and officials were housed in Universiti Malaysia Sarawak which was chosen to be the official games village. Besides being physically near to the competition venues, it was hoped that it will add vibe to the host cities and reduce post-games costs in converting a dedicated games village to other uses.

The 18th Malaysia Para Games had 9 venues for the games, 5 in Kuching and 4 in Samarahan.

Volunteers

The organisers estimated that about 1000 volunteers are needed to successfully host the games.

Public transport

Shuttle bus services, Rapid KL Buses were provided throughout the games and were used to ferry athletes and officials to and from the airport, games venues and games village.

Logo and mascot

The logo of the 2016 Malaysia Para Games is an image depicting three human-like figures standing together within the two circles in an upward motion which reflects the slogan "Unity in Diversity" and carries the clear message that in sports, everyone including the less able athletes, are united in the quest for honour and glory. Besides it symbolises the unity among the people from different races and background and the celebration for athletes who have achieved their lifetime dreams of sporting excellence and glory.

Similar to the 2016 Sukma Games, the official mascots of the 2016 Malaysia Para Games is a pair of hornbills named Satria (male) and Satrina (female) respectively. It is said that Sarawak is known by many as "Bumi Kenyalang" or the "Land of the Hornbills". The mascots were designed in 3D to give them a more realistic appeal. Designers of the mascot costume took into account the ergonomics of the mascot as to not bring discomfort to the wearer. The mascots wears the Sarawak flag and all in all symbolizes the state of Sarawak. These mascots were designed by Amir Hassan Mohd Shah, and are the first ever Malaysia Para Games mascots in history to depict both male and female mascots.

Songs

The theme song of the games of the same name was released along with the logo of the games on 15 May 2016.

Opening ceremony

The opening ceremony was held on Saturday, 6 August 2016, beginning at 14:30 MST (UTC+8) at the Petra Jaya Unity Stadium. The ceremony begins with the arrival of guest of honour including Douglas Uggah Embas the deputy chief minister of Sarawak, former prime minister Tun Abdullah Badawi and his wife and Paralympic Council patron Tun Jeanne Abdullah, the playing of the national anthem of Malaysia and the state anthem of Sarawak. This was followed by an opener performance by disabled dancers. Later, a parade of athletes led by the games volunteers was held, began with the state of Pahang and followed by other states of Malaysia with host Sarawak enters the stadium last. After state Welfare, Women and Community minister Fatimah Abdullah gave her speech, Douglas Uggah Embas, the deputy chief minister of Sarawak gave his speech, declared the games opened and initiated the lighting of the flame animation on the cauldron. After the cauldron was lit, the games flag was raised by Royal Malaysian navy personnel, followed by playing of the games' theme song. This was followed by pledge recitation and dance perfornance by Kuching students with the theme "Unity in Diversity". The ceremony concludes with a series of cultural dances and performance.

Closing ceremony

The closing ceremony was held on Wednesday, 10 August 2016, beginning at 20:30 MST (UTC+8) at the Petra Jaya Unity Stadium. The ceremony begins with the arrival of the guest of honour, the parade of athletes into the stadium, the playing of the national anthem of Malaysia and the state anthem of Sarawak. This was followed by a series of cultural performance featuring Sarawak main races. After Minister of Welfare, Women and Community Fatimah Abdullah gave her speech, Khairy Jamaluddin the sports minister of Malaysia gave his speech and officially declared the games closed. Later, Yoong Chung Wei of swimming from Penang and Lim Carmen of swimming from Selangor were announced as best sportsman and best sportswoman respectively. Sarawak was also announced as the overall champion of the games. After the games flag lowered by Royal Malaysian Navy personnel and the cauldron extinguished, the Malaysia Para Games responsibility was handed over to Perak, host of the 2018 Malaysia Para Games where the sports minister of Perak Abdul Rahim received the flag as its symbolisation. A Perak segment performance was later performed by Perak dancers. Perak earlier also hosted the 2018 Sukma Games. The ceremony concludes with a series of cultural dances and performance.

Participating states

An estimated total of 1407 athletes from 13 states and 2 Federal Territories competed at the 2016 Malaysia Para Games. The number of athletes competed for each state is shown in parenthesis.

Sports

The Sarawak Sukma Games Organising Committee had confirmed a total of 9 sports for the 2016 Malaysia Para Games. The announcement took place after the sports were endorsed at the press conference of the 2016 Sukma Games in Baitul Makmur, Petra Jaya.

Medal table

A total of 893 medals, comprising 326 gold medals, 287 silver medals and 280 bronze medals were awarded to athletes. The host Sarawak's performance was their best ever yet, and emerged as overall champion of the games.

  *   Host state (Sarawak)