During an interview with RAKAN Sarawak, Chairman of youth organisation, Pertubuhan Belia Kebangsaan Bersatu Sarawak (SABERKAS), Gedong branch, Razak @ Abdul Razak Bin Saleh, he said that the local community love to participate in sports activities such as football, sepak takraw, boat racing and also cycling.
SABERKAS Gedong background
SABERKAS Gedong was established on 27 August 2020 and it was approved by the Registrar of Societies Malaysia, Sarawak on 25 November 2020.
Back then, there were only two units under SABERKAS Gedong; Unit Kampung Gedong and Unit Perintah Masjid.
However, due to the increase number of members over the recent years, there were requests by the members of increase the number of units.
As of now, SABERKAS Gedong has three units, namely Unit Lubok Lalang, Unit Kampung Perintah Masjid and Unit Kampung Tengah Hulu-Lot.
At the moment, SABERKAS Gedong has 300 members and they are targeting to increase it to at least 500 members.
According to Razak, each units have their own roles and responsibilities whenever SABERKAS Gedong organises huge events and programs in the village.
Gedong, the sports sanctuary
The most popular programs and activities by SABERKAS Gedong is its sporting events.
According to Razak, one of their biggest events is the sports carnival, Karnival Sukan SABERKAS.
“Unfortunately, we cannot organise that many events during the pandemic period. In 2020, we did not have any activities at all,” he lamented.
This year (2022), SABERKAS Gedong is planning to organise a sports carnival but is yet to decide on the exact date.
However, during the endemic phase, they started to pick up when SABERKAS Gedong managed to organise few programs such as bubur lambuk giveaway during fasting month, football tournament, volleyball, futsal and sepak takraw.
“Football is the most popular sports here among the community. This year, we organised two football tournaments, one for the youths and another one for veterans,” said Razak.
However, he added that while the community loves sports, Gedong lacks the proper infrastructures.
He explained that as of now, Gedong only has one football field and many futsal courts, but they are smaller and not of the standard size such as those in UNIMAS.
As of now, it was informed that the field has been handed over to SABERKAS Gedong for management and so, with the handover, Razak said that more events will and can be organised in the future.
Aside from that, in the future, Razak plans to form a women’s football team in Gedong.
Aside from ball sports, Gedong is also known as the perfect cycling spot not only among the locals but also visitors as well.
According to Razak, among the famous routes includes from Gedong to Serian from Tanah Puteh, Gedong to Simunjan through Sadong Jaya as well as to Balai Ringin.
“Once we assembled 300 people to participate in a cycling session about three or four years ago,” he said adding that it happened before SABERKAS Gedong was formed.
In addition, Gedong is also known for organising boat racing tournament held at Gedong River.
“We often held boat racing tournaments before, but we have to halt due to the pandemic. Perhaps SABERKAS can also organise a boat racing tournament here this year,” said vice chairman of SABERKAS Gedong, Haji Ali Bin Haji Bujang.
He added that the last time Gedong has a boat tournament was in March this year during the Sarawak X-Tive event.
“We have several boat-builders here in Gedong and most of them are youths, so we recruited them as SABERKAS members,” he added.
Aside from that, he added that Gedong has several boat-racing teams that never failed to participate in tournaments in Kuching, Samarahan and also Sri Aman.
Another sports activity that made into the ‘most popular’ list among its members and also the community is eSports.
Due to the rise of the Internet of Things (IoT) and technology transformation, the sport is gaining interest among the youths.
Treasurer of SABERKAS Gedong, Mahathir Bin Oyak said that his nephew, 20-year-old Ibnuqaldoon Mohd Sukor who represented Malaysia in eSports during Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games) in Vietnam 2022 is known as a sports idol among the youth in Gedong.
Mahathir who is also part of the Gedong youth club, Kelab Belia Kreatif Gedong said that some of the youths in the club are also members of SABERKAS, Gedong.
According to him, the youths in Gedong are generally active and independent and are willing to participate in any activities and programs organised by SABERKAS or the youth club.
Seberkas’ role in community’s socio-economic development
With various sporting events, Haji Ali believes that SABERKAS Gedong can contribute to the development of the socio-economy of the Gedong community.
“I do believe that we will be directly and indirectly involved in the development of Gedong through various methods,” he said.
The implementation of various programs in Gedong will provide opportunities for small medium entrepreneurs (SMEs) to promote their products.
In addition to this, as Gedong is known for its boat racing and cycling events, this could also be an opportunity for the boat-builders in expanding their business markets and for more workshops to be open for cyclists.
“In my opinion, SABERKAS members need to take this opportunity to be involved in every aspect possible,”
“Perhaps, in the future, we hope to open up a Koperasi (Cooperative) under SABERKAS Gedong for SMEs,” said Haji Ali adding that he hopes the youths to be active in all aspects regardless whether it is sports or entrepreneurship.
In encourage the youths to more involved, Razak said that SABERKAS Gedong is encouraging them to join in as many courses or programs related to digital economy.
“We hope SABERKAS Gedong can be a platform in the development of digital economy here as Gedong district will be Samarahan’s satellite town,” he said.
