KUALA LUMPUR – The allocation of RM50 million for the Podium Programme will give Malaysia its best chance at tasting Olympic gold for the first time, said Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Faizal Azumu.
Faizal said the financial allocation proposed by the Finance Ministry for 2023 will help the National Sports Council (NSC) to continue the programmes for high-performance athletes.
“With this, I believe our first Olympic gold can come at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.
“I am confident that the momentum our athletes have right now is on track to what we want to achieve,” he said today at the launch of the 2022 National Sports Day in Putrajaya.
He also said that the ministry is thankful to the government for allocating RM154 million for the development of the Malaysian sports ecosystem which will include mobilising a new talent search programme, training programmes, and maintaining facilities.
“This (allocation) will be managed by the NSC and also contribute to the preparation for the Cambodia SEA Games (May 5-17 next year) followed by the Hangzhou Asian Games (September 23 – October 8 next year), as well as other qualification tournaments for Paris 2024,” he said.
Faizal also said the ministry wants to empower the sporting industry so that it is able to contribute to the national economy.
“The continuous support given by the government for e-sports is good due to the industry’s large size as it can generate an income and later on will be taxed by the government, which will be used to provide more allocations in other forms in the future,” he said.
Finance Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz’s tabling of Budget 2023 yesterday saw the Youth and Sports Ministry receiving its biggest allocation of RM374 million.
However, not all are celebrating. Universiti Teknologi Mara senior sports science lecturer Mohd Sadek Mustaffa said the increase in allocation from last year’s RM289 million would not be enough to cater to the country’s hopes of getting its first gold medal.
Sadek said the government should allocate an additional RM200 million for the Podium Programme, which was originally meant to help Malaysia win its first gold at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. – The Vibes, October 8, 2022
