KUALA LUMPUR – National sports associations and clubs registered under the Sports Development Act 1996 (Act 576) will no longer need to seek approval from the Sports Commissioner’s Office to organise sporting events.
Effective April 10, the new guidelines were announced by Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh, who said it was an effort by the ministry to ease the organisation of events by associations and clubs.
“This is an effort to improve and increase the number of sporting events held throughout the year.
“We want to make it easier to obtain permission for an event, not just in heavily populated areas, but also in small towns,” she said in a press conference today.
As associations will not have to go through the commissioner’s office, they will still need to make sure the event is run according to safety standards already in place, while also ensuring proper insurance coverage for participants.
Meanwhile, Hannah also said non-governmental organisations not registered under Act 576 that intend to organise sporting events will now only need to get approval from the respective sports associations, not through the commissioner’s office as they did before.
Besides obtaining insurance protection for the event, Hannah said all sporting events organisers will need to comply with the implementation of the Safe Sport Code (SSC).
At the same time, Hannah also announced that the number of activities regarded as sports have been increased from 51 to 103 based on the Sports Development (Amendment of First Schedule) Order.
“This list was last updated in 2004. This list now involves current and new sports based on the recommendations of Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka,” she said in a press conference at the ministry today.
Hannah also said the Second and Third Schedule of Act 576 now includes elements of ensuring a safe environment for athletes in line with being a signatory of the World Anti-doping Code and SSC.
Meanwhile, the ministry also eased the process for private sector organisers to seek approval, reducing the number of documents needed to apply from nine to three.
Private sector organisers will still need to seek approval from the commissioner’s office, but will only need to present their registration certificates, insurance coverage, and sanction from the governing body. The licensing fees will also be waived until the end of 2025.
“Many organisers have come up to me and complained that getting their events sanctioned is very costly.
“I hope national sports associations can also help us in line with the changes that we are making to ensure more sporting events can be organised,” she said.
Hannah also announced that the application period for local sporting events have been reduced from 30 working days to 14, while the application window for international events has been reduced from 90 business days to 30.
She added that licence approvals for sporting events in Sabah and Sarawak will be processed by their regional sports commissioner’s offices. – The Vibes, March 23, 2023
