SHAH ALAM, 16 Jan: The Malaysia Women’s Marathon (MWM), through Tourism Selangor, targets for more people to participate in the programme, which will take place on 16 March, due to the encouraging response in previous years.
The Director of the MWM programme, Karen Loh, said that Malaysia is the fifth country in the world and the only country in Southeast Asia to New Zealand that organises this event.
“Women should be confident in every action, and if they do not start something, they will not be able to progress forward.
“Families who come need not worry because we are providing side activities such art activities for children and also a childcare area to add to the buzz of this programme,” said Karen in a press statement at the Concorde Hotel.
The Executive Councillor for Tourism, Elizabeth Wong, said that the activity is a starting point to boost their morale so that they are not easily deterred.
“From my experience of participating in a marathon in Melbourne, although I only covered 3km, the impact made me stronger in terms of mental and physical aspects, and it also increased by self-confidence,” said Elizabeth.
The Executive Councillor in for Women’s Welfare, Rodziah Ismail, said that the event is to convey a message to all women, especially in Selangor, that health and fitness is important.
The Executive Councillor for Health, Dr Daroyah Alwi, said that such programmes are in line with the State Government’s desire of wanting to see that the people are fit and healthy.
“Participants who engage in the MWM event can make events organised by the health ministry a form of preparation and warm-up activities before the MWM,” said Daroyah.
For this year’s MWM, Nashata, a sports apparel label for Muslim women, is also one of the sponsors for this event.
According to the label founder, Eliza Nordin, she is trying to open the minds of Muslim women in Malaysia to not make apparel a factor of why they find it difficult to participate in endurance sports or exercise.
“Muslim women should remain active and there is nothing that can stand in their way. With the existence of Nashata, their perceptions can be changes and make them interested in participating in programmes like this,” said Eliza.
This press conference was also attended by other major sponsors such as Habib Jewels, Prudential, Air Asia, and GE (General Electrics).
