KUALA LUMPUR – Relocating the National Sports Council (NSC), National Sports Institute (NSI), and the Bukit Jalil Sports School (BJSS) may sound feasible, but doing so will surely burn a hole in the government coffers.
Is this a necessary move, given the country’s unstable economic condition? People and businesses have yet to recover from two years of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Despite the fact that Youth and Sports minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Faizal Azumu revealing earlier to The Vibes that it was merely an idea, such a news would irk the public as millions will be spent on relocation.
If over RM1 billion was allocated for KL Sports City, how much more would taxpayers have to pay for a new complex?
In 2014, the government approved the expansion of the NSI headquarters on the existing plot in KL Sports City to house a new gymnasium, rehabilitation facilities, and a new four-storey sports science block.
The expansion was completed in stages in 2016, 2018, and recently in 2021, so relocation would not be the right thing to do for the next five to 10 years.
However, it would make sense if the NSC is relocated to the Youth and Sports Ministry in Putrajaya, because it is only in charge of administrative, financial, and logistical support for the national athletes and coaches and the governing bodies of the national sports associations.
But moving NSI and BJSS would not be practical, as building the facilities alone would need millions of ringgit allocated by the government.
Speaking to The Vibes, former NSI chief executive Datuk Ramlan Aziz said that to replicate NSI would cost so much, adding that the recent upgrades to premises were only completed in 2021.
Having said that, he added that major shifts like this will necessarily take time and due diligence to complete, which is typically the case.
Such a move may very well take years, even as things stand in other domains that would affect this plan.
“So, if things hold firm, by the time the decision is made and plans rolled out, it would be time for another upgrade, say five to 15 years. Or it may take two to three Malaysia Plans, private sector funding notwithstanding, of course.
“On the other hand, costs would understandably rise in the future and may well be prohibitive for any single entity, not ruling out a conglomerate of entities partnering in such a venture to afford it.
“Of course, it is the government’s prerogative to make any decision that it sees fit, according to proper need, process, and procedure.
“However, whatever the decision or plan may be, I believe and trust that the management of the athletes’ performance is always held in paramount importance and kept as a guiding compass in decision making,” said Ramlan, who is in Mecca performing his haj.
It is understood that the plot of land, which currently homes the NSC, NSI, and BJSS, will be used for mixed development if the government approves the relocation of the three institutes to Sepang.
It is also understood that the development of the sports complex in Sepang would also include a 50,000-seater stadium, which is a waste of taxpayers’ money, as there is already the national stadium in Bukit Jalil with a capacity of 80,000.
During the refurbishment of the KL Sports City, there was a plan for Phase Two, which included the construction of a sports hospital, sports museum, and renovation of the existing building of NSC, NSI, and BJSS.
The plan was scrapped after the change of government in 2018 when Pakatan Harapan took charge.
It would still be realistic for the current government to rejuvenate the plan instead of relocating the institutes, only to have the land replaced by mixed development. – The Vibes, July 15, 2022
