Selangor, 15 March 2022 – Aaliyah Yoong Hanifah, Yayasan Sime Darby (YSD) Star Scholar and Ambassador, and Malaysian water skier has won 4 gold and 2 bronze medals at the Moomba Masters 2022 in Melbourne.

Aaliyah participated in the Junior and Open Women categories between 9 and 14 March 2022 at the Yarra River in Melbourne. She won 3 golds in a spectacular achievement at the Girls Tricks and Jump events and earned another gold for the Girls Overall at the Moomba Masters tournament. She also won a bronze for the Girls Slalom.

Aaliyah won her very first Open Women podium when she placed 3rd in Open Women Tricks, as well as winning Open Women Overall, 4th in Open Women Jump and 9th in Open Women Slalom in an impressive performance after a two-year long gap without competing due to the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions.

She had also broken the national women jump record of 38.9m twice over the week with new national records of 39.5m and 41.4m.

YSD Chairman, Y.A.M. Tunku Tan Sri Imran Ibni Almarhum Tuanku Ja'afar expressed that, “YSD is happy to be supporting Aaliyah’s tertiary education so that she is able to pursue her passion of water skiing, while advancing her studies in psychology and being a role model as well as inspiration for girls and women in sports. As we witness her incredible performance at the recent Moomba Masters tournament in Melbourne, I am certain that her astounding success is just the beginning of her journey to becoming the world’s number 1 in water skiing. And YSD is proud to be a part of that journey. Keep it up Aaliyah. YSD and Malaysia are with you all the way.”
The Moomba Masters attracts the world’s largest crowds for waterski events where some 200,000 attend the weeklong competitions alongside the Moomba Festival in Melbourne.

YSD is providing Aaliyah with the YSD Star Scholarship Award for a duration of 5 years to undertake preparatory examinations and a four-year overseas degree in Psychology, while attending specialised training and international competitions. Her predecessors who had received this prestigious YSD Star Scholarship include Malaysia’s first cycling Olympic medallist Datuk Azizulhasni Awang and professional golfer Kelly Tan Guat Chen.

This YSD Star Scholarship was provided to Aaliyah under YSD’s Education pillar following her consistent stellar track record in waterskiing as well as academic performance. The support for Aaliyah is in line with YSD’s, together with donors Sime Darby Berhad, Sime Darby Plantation Berhad and Sime Darby Property Berhad’s long term goals of supporting and developing youths and girls in sports.