The ceremony which was held at Proton Centre of Excellence, was witnessed by Hannah Yeoh, Minister of Youth and Sports.
In a statement, Proton said with its 40 years of history, the company is intrinsically woven into the tapestry of the country and through the decades, has played an important role developing the national car industry while also making contributions to various fields contributing to the development of the nation.
This year, the company is building international connections via Malaysian athletes competing in the 19th Asian Games by organising the Proton Asian Games Nation Drive.
The initiative showcases Malaysia’s cultural heritage as well as the company’s range of products while embarking on a journey to collect handicraft unique to the states visited.
Starting with Sabah, the group then visited Sarawak before returning to Peninsular Malaysia to make stopovers in Melaka, Pahang, and Perak.
At each stop, members of the convoy were presented with handicraft from athletes comprising high jumper Farrell Glenn Felix Jurus, sprinter Patronella Lisong, boxer Daeloniel McDelon, former national hockey star, Datuk Mirnawan Datuk Nawawi, as well as track legends Josephine Mary and Samson Vallabouy, who will see their daughter Shereen Samson Vallabouy following in their footsteps and competing at the games.
The items consist of a beaded pinokol necklace from Sabah, a sape from Sarawak, an encased fabric sample of tenun Pahang, a kebaya nyonya from Melaka as well as a labu sayong from Perak.
“As Geely is one of the presenting sponsors of the 19th Asian Games, Proton's involvement is not only part of our effort to support our national athletes competing at the games, but also for the work undertaken by our joint venture partner. The Malaysian contingent will be competing hard to win but they are also ambassadors for the country, so it is apt for them to present handicraft from Malaysia to the Asian Games Museum in Hangzhou," said Roslan Abdullah, deputy CEO of Proton.
