KOTA KINABALU: Gelsoft Sabah was officially launched today at a leading hotel by the Minister of International Trade and Industry (MITI) Datuk Darrel Leiking.
During the event, he also witnessed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signing ceremony between Sabah and led by George Tann Junior and Australia represented by Siva Sara the Chief International Officer of Gelsoft Australia.
Speaking to reporters after the ceremony, Darrell said the extreme sport started with only a few interested individuals but now boasted 32 groups in 10 locations in the State.
He said this augured well for the sport as it had caught the attention of like-minded youth, which enhanced interaction and rapport among them.
“This is a healthy sport where they can sweat out. It is better for them to sweat out (in the sport) and interact.”
On another note, he said Tann wanted to apply to the Government to create a business manufacturing these gel soft blasters. With the technology between Australia and Sabah, they would be able to export the products from out of the State.
“Of course, first of all they have to sort out any legalities, I think they are doing it. We have the relevant authorities here that want to help them out. I support this, as a lot of our children stay at home, which is good, but could be unhealthy for them.”
On the national focus for youth development, he said in MITI the focus was in manufacturing which is an industry that we want to bring to Sabah. But this has to be an initiative by investors. We support them but they have to acquire permission and license from the Government to manufacture gel soft blaster.
“In (Party) Warisan, we encourage our youth to look into business ventures that can give them a good lifestyle. We must no longer be blaming the people for our own shortcomings. We must find something that will group people together.”
Meanwhile, Tann said their first step would be carrying out safety awareness campaign to the public throughout Sabah because some might not understand the sport.
He said they would show members of the public what the game was all about, adding that they would hold a road show around Sabah.
“We will work with the relevant authorities in our endeavors, including the police,” he said.
Some 300 people attended the event. An exhibition of the ‘weapons’ and costumes were also held.
Also present during today’s events were Minister of Youth and Sports Phoong Jin Tze, Sabah Police Commissioner Datuk Omar Mammah and Social and Digital Media Manager of Gelsoft Australia Gilly Palacios, Chief Operations Officer of Gelsoft Australia Joe Zarillo, Chief International officer of Gelsoft Australia Siva Sara, Chief Deputy Superintendent of Penampang District Police Mohd Haris Hj Ibrahim an officer from the Penampang District Police, Insector Arisanti Aziz.-pr/BNN
