BUKIT JALIL – Olympic Council of Malaysia president Tan Sri Norza Zakaria has called for private entities to join in and develop sports in the country.
Norza, who is also the Badminton Association of Malaysia president, said that the development of sports in the country should not only fall on the shoulders of state associations and the government.
“The responsibility to develop sports should not only fall on the shoulders of state associations. What about the private sector and clubs? We need to increase our talent pool.
“I think it’s time, with a stable government, to reset sports and not leave our athletes and coaches at the wayside,” he said at a press conference held at the National Sports Council in Bukit Jalil here today.
He also highlighted that Malaysian athletes and coaches are not paid well, due to a lack of financial backing.
“Our athletes and coaches are not well paid. Some of them get RM800 and sit in rooms without air conditioning to save money, and we call ourselves a sporting nation?
“Vietnam has quietly done their business for two SEA Games. Everyone thought it was a fluke in Hanoi because they were hosts. But this is their second time as champions, meaning they are focusing on both the government and private sides.
“It’s time to bring the private sector to adopt sports,” he adds.
Norza said one way to take Malaysian sports to the next level is to improve the rewards system for athletes.
“You look at the rewards that the Indonesians are giving to their athletes, they are way above what we are giving ours.
“I have spoken about a safety net for them like a pension scheme and many more, but it has all fallen on deaf ears. Because our policy always changes, we don’t have a medium to long-term policy. We must build this.
“We should reward our athletes better and make it a robust system with key performance indicators,” he said. – The Vibes, May 19, 2023
