KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 22 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has expressed immense pride over the achievement of seven national athletes in bringing glory to Malaysia at the 2024 Olympics and Paralympics.

Anwar posted on his Facebook page today that he had the opportunity to meet the ‘magnificent seven’ of Lee Zi Jia, Aaron Chia, Soh Wooi Yik, Cheah Liek Hou, Bonnie Bunyau Anak Gustin, Muhammad Ziyad Zolkefli and Eddy Bernard, who won medals in Paris in their respective sports, before leaving Parliament today.

"I am proud of their fantastic achievement and was touched to hear them share how they began while still in school and worked tirelessly to break down every obstacle put in their way en route to becoming world-class athletes and, at the same time, uniting all Malaysians through their success,” he said.

Anwar said he was also impressed after listening to Wooi Yik share how he withstood the pain of a fractured and swollen toe for 74 minutes during the bronze-medal match in Paris.

"Thank you for your courage and sacrifices in ensuring the Malaysian flag flew majestically in Paris,” he posted.

According to the post, the Prime Minister, during the meeting, also expressed the government’s determination to continue intensifying national sports development, especially through the allocation of over RM230 million under Budget 2025.

The allocation is, among others, for the Podium Programme; athlete training and Road to Gold programme; and the preparation of para-athletes ahead of the World Para Athletics Championships and Tokyo 2025 Deaflympics.

Anwar said the allocation is also for maintenance and repair works on youth and sports facilities nationwide; as well as the sport matching grant as an encouragement to host sports competitions by associations and non-governmental organisations. — Bernama