“What should the incoming Youth and Sports Minister do?”
This question was posed by Diana Rahman, the head of the legal department of a major Malaysian property development company, who played moderator for the ‘Integrity and Human Rights in Sports’ session during the Sports Law and Arbitration Conference, on Nov 24.
Held in the auditorium of a private college in Petaling Jaya, the conference was organised by the Sports Law Association of Malaysia. Among those present were Tunku Imran Tuanku Ja’afar and Tan Sri Dr M. Jegathesan.
The question came about an hour before Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim was named Malaysia’s 10th prime minister.
In answering the question posed, Datuk Dr Ramlan Aziz – the musically-inclined former National Sports Council director-general and National Sports Institute chief executive officer – hoped for continuity.
He also pointed out that youth and sports were two very different roles, suggesting that the ministry should rightfully be split.
Joining Dr Ramlan in the session themed ‘Integrity and Human Rights in Sports’ were Olympian Noraseela Khalid, and this writer.
“Whoever comes into power should just scrap the plan of building an RM20 million drag strip,” was my immediate reply.
I echoed Dr Ramlan’s views, adding the new youth and sports minister should forget about creating legacies and concentrate on, and strengthen on-going initiatives.
For the longest time ever, new ministers often come in with new ideas. Unfortunately, these ideas are quickly ditched when their successors take office.
Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein, who was already the Youth and Sports minister when I first joined the media industry in 2000, paid a lot of attention to extreme sports, which saw Kuala Lumpur hosting the Asian X-Games.
It was forgotten when Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said took office, as her focus was on women in sports. Her plans were shelved during Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob’s brief stint in the ministry. Datuk Seri Ahmad Shabery Cheek had, among others, promoted the sports industry, while getting the National Football Development Programme going.
Khairy Jamaluddin had his fair share of grand plans. Thankfully, some of the initiatives, like Fit Malaysia and Hari Sukan Negara, continue till today, while Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman zoomed in on e-Sports, among others.
It is encouraging to see Datuk Seri Reezal Merican Naina Merican and Datuk Seri Ahmad Faizal Azumu, brief though their stints were, continuing most of the programmes that were initiated by their predecessors.
Among Ahmad Faizal’s notable work included re-igniting conversations about the sports industry, creating a maintenance culture, introducing community leagues and supporting the Safe Sport Act.
Many plans and visions are already on the table. The series of stakeholder engagements, where views were documented, should not go to waste. The same goes for the input by the Podium Programme Enhancement Committee, which seems to have been shelved. The National Sports Vision 2030, which is already two years late, needs to be quickly rolled out.
And let’s make the 2017 SEA Games accounts public before Malaysia plays host to the 2027 SEA Games.
Many, including politicians, tend to assume that the role of the minister is to merely facilitate the elite athletes. That is not the case.
They must ask themselves, how would the average voter, taxpayer and their children benefit from the ministry?
There must be more mass-inspired activities and initiatives carried out consistently. This will create a sporting eco-system with spillover effects that cut across various sectors – from merchandising to the sale of food and beverages.
The ultimate goal is to turn Malaysia into a truly sporting nation. This means injecting sports and recreational activities into our daily lives, en route to creating a healthier and more productive nation.
Sports must also be used as a unifying tool. It must remain pure and colour-blind, upholding the principles of fair play, respect, and equality.
Ministers come and go. As such, it is incumbent on the community, to create a fair, respectful, and equal environment to encourage as many people to play sports – regardless of age, gender, sexual orientation, background, colour, or faith.
Get the people around you to sweat it out. If almost every household in the country starts doing the same, the government will surely invest in more grassroots and community activities to win the hearts of voters. This, in return, will expand the talent pool in the country.
Forget about legacies, let’s just get more people to exercise.
