Najib Congratulates Commonwealth Games Athletes

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 4 (Bernama) -- Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak congratulated all the Malaysian athletes who competed in the 20th Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland, particularly those who had won medals.

The Prime Minister said in his blog www.1malaysia.com.my today that the Malaysian contingent had shown strong commitment and spirit in the games that began on July 23 and ended yesterday.

"The strong fighting spirit of our athletes had succeeded in grabbing six gold medals through weightlifter Mohd Hafifi Mansor, world squash champion Datuk Nicol David, local talents in the mixed squad, the national badminton men's and women's doubles pairs, as well as rising diving star Ooi Tze Liang," he said.

Malaysia ended in 12th spot with six gold, seven silver and six bronze medals at the second biggest sports meet in the world.

Najib said Malaysia must also undertake proactive measures to improve and enhance performance in sports, and continue to live based on the culture of excellence.

"I believe that we should aim to focus on achieving stellar results in future tournaments.

"As such, I call upon all Malaysians of different backgrounds, to continue standing behind our athletes.

"Together we can hold our heads high and strive for better in the future," he said.

The Prime Minister said the Malaysian contingent managed to win six of the seven gold medals targeted by the Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM).

"We set our goals more realistically because some of the games in which we won gold in the previous Commonwealth Games in New Delhi were not contested in Glasgow, as well as the fact that our athletes are not competing in some of the games and events this time," he said.

Najib said it was, however, uplifting to see Malaysians from all walks of life coming together in solidarity with the MH17 victims.

"...Nowhere is this unity better on display than at the recently concluded Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

"We had a sombre start to the Games, where our Jalur Gemilang was flown at half-mast. Commonwealth nations also stood in solidarity with Malaysia, observing a minute's silence during the opening ceremony," he said.

Flight MH17 crashed in eastern Ukraine on July 17 as it was flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur with 283 passengers and 15 crew on board. The Boeing 777-200 aircraft is believed to have been shot down over the troubled country.