The Sarawak-born athlete registered a throw of 18.78m in his third attempt, erasing the games record of 18.38m held by Filipino shot put ace William III Edward Morrison since 2019.

Jonah, 22, making his second appearance at the SEA Games, also broke his own national record of 18.46m, set last year. He had finished second in this event at the 2023 SEA Games in Cambodia.

The silver medal in the event was won by Thailand’s Silamool Thongchai with a throw of 16.80m, while the bronze went to Morrison.

Jonah’s gold medal is Malaysia’s third in athletics after Grace Wong and Nani Sahirah Maryata won the women’s hammer throw and women’s shot put respectively.

National javelin thrower Ng Jing Xuan also shattered the national record of 49.34m to claim the silver medal in the women’s javelin throw event with a personal best of 52.17m. The gold went to Wichaidit Jariya of Thailand with a throw of 55.64m. The bronze medal went to Espenilla Ana Bhianca from the Philippines who registered a throw of 51.66m.