Gustin holding the medals won by his son Bonnie throughout the years. The photo on the wall to his right shows him and his sons representing Malaysia during the 2017 Kuala Lumpur ASEAN Para Games. – Photo by Chimon Upon
SARAWAK’s contribution in producing world class athletes is well documented and the latest to do so from the state is Bonnie Bunyau Gustin, a 22 year-old powerlifter who won Malaysia’s first ever gold medal in the sport during the men’s 72 kg event at the 2020 Summer Paralympics in Tokyo recently.
Not only did he win a gold medal, he also broke the Paralympic record and he achieved that after he set a new world record of 230 kg in the men’s 72 kg event at the 2021 World Para Powerlifting World Cup in Dubai in June this year.
Such achievements by Bonnie have not only made him the pride of Sarawakians, but Malaysians as a whole.
Among the notable names who congratulated Bonnie for winning the gold medal for Malaysia at the Tokyo Paralympics was Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob.
Ismail said in a post on his Facebook page that Bonnie’s success was a source of national pride.
“Malaysia’s first gold! Thank you Bonnie Bunyau Gustin for presenting the Malaysian Family with the gold medal in men’s powerlifting. You made us proud when NegaraKu was played and the Jalur Gemilang was raised in Tokyo,” said Ismail Sabri.
Bonnie with the gold medal won at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games at the Tokyo International Forum on Aug 28 this year. – Bernama photo
Although Bonnie is a Bidayuh and is from Kampung Baru Mawang, Serian, he was not born in Serian but in Betong, where his family was staying at the time.
His father Gustin Jenang, 54, is a former national para athlete and his mother Evylen Gelagar, 42, is an Iban from Betong and a housewife.
To commemorate Bonnie’s birth in Betong, his parents decided to give him an Iban middle name, Bunyau, at the request of Bonnie’s maternal grandparents.
“We gave him the name Bunyau as his middle name because his maternal grandparents wanted him to have the name. They wanted him to have an Iban name because they think that Bonnie should have such a name since he has ancestors from the area (Betong),” Gustin told The Borneo Post in an interview at his home in Kampung Baru Mawang.
Bonnie is also Gustin’s only child to have an Iban middle name and the only one who is not born in Serian.
Though Bonnie is half Iban, he has admitted that he does not speak Iban fluently, as he and his family spoke the Bukar Bidayuh dialect at home including his mother who speaks the dialect fluently.
Before pursuing his career as a full-time athlete in Kuala Lumpur, Bonnie attended secondary school at SMK Tarat, located not far from the village where his family is currently residing.
Bonnie started getting involved in powerlifting after seeing his father Gustin doing well when representing the country as a powerlifter in from the year 2000 to 2017.
Seeing his father getting involved in the sport was enough to inspire him to be a powerlifter himself.
“After seeing me travelling around the world to compete as a para athlete, all my children including Bonnie were inspired. They told me that they want to do the same and I thus encouraged them to do so, while at the same time hope that they become better than me,” said Gustin.
Bonnie, who has a shy personality, also commented that his father was his main inspiration. He does not have any other athlete as his inspiration or role model apart from his father and it brings him satisfaction to put a smile on his father’s face every time he makes an achievement.
It was through seeing the hardship faced by his father Gustin when he was still a para athlete that he appreciated his father’s sacrifices and thus, he just wants to make his father proud.
“My father (Gustin) taught me that to achieve something that really brings worthwhile success is never easy. It is true what they say, success never comes easy and I myself realised that after seeing my father compete in various tournaments be it at the local or international level,” said Bonnie, who was still in Kuala Lumpur during the time of interview and was contacted via telephone.
Since retiring as a competitive athlete, Gustin has been self-employed. Apart from Bonnie, Gustin has two other sons Bryan Junancey, 24, and Brownson John, 12.
While the father and his sons have disabilities, Gustin sees it as a blessing in disguise as he and his family have been able to contribute to the nation’s success in competitions.
Gustin wants to prove that having a disability is not an excuse not to achieve great things in life and he and his family have proven so.
“I hope that those in the country, and perhaps everywhere else, who have a similar situation as me and my children, will get inspired. My message is that there will always be a way to achieve great things if you put your mind to it,” said Gustin.
For the record, Bonnie’s elder brother Bryan had also represented the country on numerous occasions at international level while Brownson who is the youngest among the siblings also aspires to be like his brothers and father as well.
Gustin and his two sons, Bonnie and Bryan, even represented Malaysia together competing in the 2017 Kuala Lumpur ASEAN Para Games where Gustin won the bronze medal in the men’s 59kg category at the tournament.
Bonnie and Bryan, who were both still very young at the time, came very close to winning medals for themselves during the tournament too.
Gustin subsequently retired from competing in tournaments after the 2017 Kuala Lumpur ASEAN Para Games where he was then the oldest participant in the tournament at 50 years old.
Asked whether he and his children had faced any sort of discrimination, Gustin said he and his children were grateful living in Malaysia as they did not face discrimination for their disabilities.
In their opinion, they felt that they have been receiving fair treatment and hoped that it will always remain so for people who have similar abilities as them.
Following his recent achievement in Tokyo, Bonnie said he was proud to have won something significant for Malaysia and he dedicated his gold medal to his father and those who supported his career too.
Bonnie reacting after a successful lift during the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games at the Tokyo International Forum. – Bernama photo
“This medal is the most meaningful, the most historic medal for me in my career. I could not have made it without the support of my family and everyone who supported me and my career,” said Bonnie.
As for Gustin, he hoped that many Malaysians, especially those with different abilities will see Bonnie as an inspiration for them if they have dreams and want to achieve great things in life.
The road to success is never easy for anyone but his son Bonnie has proven that despite the limitations that he has, dreams actually do come true if one works hard to achieve them.
“One could never know if they never start the first steps to achieve their goals either,” said Gustin.
At the time of the interview, Gustin is still waiting for his son Bonnie to come home from Kuala Lumpur after Bonnie underwent quarantine in the nation’s capital following his trip to Japan.
Gustin cannot wait to see his champion sit at the dinner table at home and share his stories of his adventures in Tokyo with his family.