SARAWAK has rewarded Paris paralympic gold medal winner cum world record breaker Bonnie Bunyau with a RM 500,000 cash award.
Premier Tan Sri Abang Johari Openg made the announcement last night at the Para Sukma Games in Stadium Perpaduan in state capital Kuching.
"Bonnie deserves the RM 500,000 cash rewards due to what he has accomplished for Sarawak and Malaysia.
"He is a model for everyone, an inspiration for every athlete.
"We thank him and we applaud him," said Abang Johari.
On Sept 14, Sarawak Minister for Women, Community Wellbeing and Early Childhood Development Datuk Seri Fatimah Abdullah had said the federal government may give up to RM 1 mil for gold winners.
"Sarawak may give half of that too," she had said in Kuching.
On Sept 7, International para-games champion Bonnie Bunyau received all round applause for winning gold in the Paris Paralympics Games and in the process setting a new world record of lifting 232kgs in the 72kg category.
Fatimah said Bonnie is a Sarawak and Malaysian hero.
"Another gold medal at the highest level in the world. Bonnie is indeed a Sarawak hero.
"He is an inspiration to all Sarawakians and we are so proud of you," she told reporters.
Bonnie won gold and set the new world record in Paris.
On Aug 25, he created the earlier world record at the ParaWorld Weightlifting Championship in the United Arab Emirates.
He won gold in the 72kg category, lifting 231 kgs in the event, breaking his own world record of 230 kgs that he created in the 2021 world championship.
Bonnie is also the current Paralympic World Champion in the weightlifting event that he won in the Tokyo Paralympic Games in 2020.
Bonnie started hitting national headlines by winning world events in 2019.
Last year, he also won gold for Malaysia in the Commonwealth Para-games in Birmingham in England in the same weightlifting category. - September 23, 2024
