KUCHING: Sports and recreational activities will be allowed to resume operations on June 17, announced Sarawak Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) today.

“The Youth and Sports Ministry will communicate with the sports bodies regarding the SOP (standard operating procedures) in detail,” the committee said in a statement.

This was announced as part of the decision made by the committee to reopen more sectors and activities, including sports, on June 17 under the Recovery Movement Control Order (RMCO) which came into effect on June 10.

On June 10, Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah said the state had given the green light for its Malaysian Games (Sukma) athletes to resume their training, although team or contact sports were still prohibited.

He said the Sukma athletes, including those involved in group sports such as swimming, rugby and football, could resume training to ensure they were ready for the games, which had been postponed from July this year to March next year in Johor.

“This is in preparation for Sukma and I am monitoring this sport. In the next week or two, I will be meeting with all coaches, associations and sports development officers,” he said.