Sports funding falls short of Olympic ambitions, says Sadek
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s ambition to win an Olympic gold medal needs greater investment than the allocations announced under the 2027 Budget, says sports analyst Sadek Mustafa.
Malaysian sports analyst Sadek Mustafa argues that the government's sports funding falls short of the ambitions needed to win Olympic gold medals. He claims the RM460 million allocated for national sports development and the RM240 million set aside for preparations to host the 2027 SEA Games and Asean Para Games are insufficient to support Malaysia's sporting aspirations.
Sadek believes that the current allocations are too minimal and would not be sufficient for Malaysia to become a sporting powerhouse. He emphasizes that there is still uncertainty about how Malaysia wants to become a sporting nation.
The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, announced an overall RM757 million sports allocation in the 2027 Budget. This includes RM460 million for development, covering high-performance programmes, the Road to Gold initiative, para-athletes, deaf sports, and maintenance of sports facilities nationwide. Sadek criticizes the limited funding, stating that it has constrained athlete development and competitive opportunities, particularly in athletics and swimming.
He calls for broader investment beyond Malaysia's traditional sporting strengths, highlighting the need for Olympic disciplines with many medal events. These include canoeing, kayaking, judo, fencing, gymnastics, and athletics. Sadek suggests a more comprehensive approach to development, questioning whether the current funding is merely superficial or if it is thorough and comprehensive.
Malaysia recently matched its best-ever Asian Games gold haul, winning nine gold, seven silver, and 16 bronze medals in Aichi-Nagoya. Anwar congratulated the athletes, coaches, and officials for their achievements when announcing the Budget allocations. However, Sadek questions whether Malaysia's development system is comprehensive enough to build a wider pool of competitive athletes.
He argues that sport remains marginalised compared to academic priorities at school and district levels, asserting that one-day activities do not constitute sustained development.
The budget provides RM27 million for school sports, a 50% increase, benefiting more than 4.6 million students across 10,000 schools nationwide. Sadek highlights that preparations for the SEA Games will increase management and organizational demands. He believes that hosting the Games will require more funding than the RM240 million allocated for the preparations of the SEA Games and Asean Para Games.
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