14-05-2025
‘Age doesn't matter': 78-year-old Mohd Ali wins Open category at Sarawak scrabble championship
The winners take a group with (seated, from sixth right) Loo, Chai, Wong and Chong after the prize presentation.
KUCHING (May 14): Age does not matter for 78-year-old Mohd Ali Ismail when it came to competing in the recent Sarawak Open Scrabble Championship.
Hailing from Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Mohd Ali beat 19 other contestants to come out tops in the Open category, with Kong Chock Heng from Petaling Jaya and Rehdy Khairil Mohd Kamil from Gombak, Kuala Lumpur finishing second and third respectively.
Mohd Ali, who was the oldest participant, proved that Scrabble was a lifelong pursuit that transcends age, and his impressive performance was an inspiration to players of all generations.
Grayson Ling Dao Xu of SJK Wah Man, Sarikei emerged as champion in the Primary School category, while Delbert Tiong Guo-Yi of Catholic High School, Sibu won the Secondary School category.
The championship was organised by the Elite Scrabble Club Kuching in collaboration with the Kuching Love Book Association, and brought together 120 enthusiasts from across Malaysia for a weekend of competitive play at SJK Chung Hua No 2.
The championship featured 11 games each for the primary and secondary school categories, while the Open category saw participants compete in 15 intense rounds.
Players came from Kuching, Padawan, Samarahan, Serian, Sri Aman, Simunjan, Sarikei, Saratok, and Tatau as well as from Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Sabah.
Elite Scrabble Club president Vince Wong Yii Hui in his speech highlighted the value of language learning and the club's commitment to fostering young minds through scrabble.
The club was also honoured by the presence of its newly appointed advisor Dato Jonathan Chai Voon Tok, who attended the closing ceremony. He also said he was in support of Scrabble as a tool for educational development.
The event was generously sponsored by Batu Lintang assemblyman See Chee How.
Elite Scrabble Club is grateful to its patron May Loo, who is Kuching Love Book Association founder, for her unwavering aspiration to inspire excellence and SJK Chung Hua No 2 headmistress Chong Lee Phin for her support and for providing the competition venue. education games lead Sarawak Open Scrabble Championship Scrabble
