Good news for Malaysian athletes as the government has agreed to set aside funds for the Podium Programme.
The matter was discussed during this morning’s Cabinet meeting.
Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Faizal Azumu will announce the details in a press conference at 2.30pm at Wisma KBS in Putrajaya.
Ahmad Faizal had been pushing for more allocation from the government for several months after several athletes’ contracts were not renewed as the Podium Programme was not in the 2022 Budget.
The pogramme was introduced in 2015 to groom world-class athletes.
The National Sports Council, however, was forced to trim down the number of athletes under the programme beginning this year due to lack of funds.
This resulted in a public outcry as there were funds for mega-events like the rebranding of Human Resource Development Corp (HRD Corp) and the 100 Day Aspirasi Keluarga Malaysia programme.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri had also recently allocated RM10 million to the FA of Malaysia, further raising eyebrows as the sport has suffered poor results for many years.
The hosting of the 2022 and 2024 Malaysia Games was also discussed during the cabinet meeting.
