The silence is deafening. The status of the National Sports Vision 2030 (VSN 2030), which was supposed to be introduced two months ago, remains a mystery.
According to the VSN 2030 website, the document will be the “roadmap for the next 10 years in empowering industry policies to facilitate the development of a more comprehensive, united and collective, sports industry.”
In less than three weeks, it will be nine years to 2030.
It is understood that VSN 2030 was to be launched on Dec 9 – but the date clashed with the ‘100-day Aspirasi Keluarga Malaysia’.
This is the culmination of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob and his cabinet’s first 100 days in office.
It is also an assessment of his ministers and their ministries’ performance in meeting their key performance indices (KPI).
It is also learnt that VSN 2030 had been listed as part of Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Faizal Azumu’s KPI.
Such a move is indeed mindboggling.
For starters, Ahmad Faizal did not initiate VSN 2030. It was, in fact, the brainchild of his predecessor, Datuk Seri Reezal Merican Naina Merican.
Secondly, the canvassing was supposed to be completed by October, and the document was to be made public during Hari Sukan Negara on Oct 9. Yet, nothing of that sort took place.
The argument that the changing of the guard at Wisma KBS had disrupted those plans, does not hold water, as these transitions should not affect such programmes, especially when allocations had already been budgeted for.
If the lockdowns imposed due to the surge in Covid-19 cases were to be used as an excuse, there are numerous applications to make online meetings and discussions possible.
If VSN 2030 were to be launched as scheduled, on Dec 9, it could be perceived as an attempt to make it look as though the minister had fulfilled as many KPIs as possible.
VSN 2030 should not be on Ahmad Faizal’s list of KPIs. VSN 2030 should be accorded the respect it deserves and not be seen as just another ‘instrument’ for the ministry to tick the boxes.
If the document is somehow miraculously made public in the coming days, the rollout must be clear and transparent.
Every stakeholder in the local sporting ecosystem must know where they stand as the industry is capable of contributing millions, if not billions of ringgit, to the nation’s coffers.
And if there are plans to initiate such efforts in the near future, the ministry must ensure that it sticks to the schedule, regardless of who comes to power.
The future of Malaysian sports is too important to be made an instrument of self-aggrandisement, especially by individuals who, for starters, have got no clue about sports.
