KUALA LUMPUR – The sporting fraternity should be free from political adversity, said Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) president Tan Sri Norza Zakaria.
Speaking at a press conference after the OCM executive council meeting today, Norza said the programmes that have been set in place for national athletes should not be affected by the changes in the political scene.
Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh was also present at Akademi Badminton Malaysia as she delivered the officiating speech before the meeting.
Norza said both parties have had positive discussions on forming a new organisation that will manage high-performance sports in the country.
“We need to work on a structure for sports that is free from political adversity to ensure that the medium and long-term pathways are not disrupted by any changes in the political arena,” he said.
Norza said that OCM had previously brought up the matter to former youth and sports minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Faizal Azumu, but it did not get the momentum it needed.
“I brought up the matter with her (Yeoh) today, and the initial reaction was positive.
“We hope she stays as minister for the next five years so the plan can move smoothly,” he added.
Before the meeting took place, Yeoh had squashed any assumptions that the Youth and Sports Ministry and national sports associations (NSA) had any ongoing issues, after newly appointed Deputy Youth and Sports Minister Adam Adli Abdul Halim insinuated that there is corruption within NSAs.
Norza also said the government must also relook at how the budget provided for the sporting sector is used.
“The government must also see from the money they allocate, how much of it is actually going to the athletes and NSAs?
“Out of every ringgit they spend, maybe half of it is needed for bureaucratic needs of the ministry.
“So, you can’t just say that NSAs are not doing their job. Are you (the government) efficient and transparent enough? These are matters that need to be raised,” he added.
Norza, who is also the Badminton Association of Malaysia president, said there needs to be better incentives to encourage funding from the private sector.
“The era for NSAs to get funding purely from the government alone has passed.
“It is time for the Youth and Sports Ministry, OCM, and the NSAs, together with the prime minister, to aggressively look at how we want the private sector to come in.
“For that, we need to look at current laws and make changes, such as providing better tax incentives.
“We want the private sector to come on board, not just in a return of investment way, but done in a charitable way or as corporate social responsibility,” said Norza.
Meanwhile, Norza said the council will be setting up the OCM Athletes’ Education Fund to replace the Tan Sri Alex Lee Athletes’ Education Fund, as the governing body will be handing back the management of said fund back to Lee’s family.
“We will handle our own education fund, which will take care of athletes’ scholarships in a bigger way.
“We are also engaging with universities to see how they can participate and support our national athletes.”
For the 2024 Paris Gold Programme, Norza said currently nine athletes have been selected to join, with two from cycling and seven from badminton. – The Vibes, December 20, 2022
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