Ministry summons Podium Programme director
PUTRAJAYA: Youth and Sports Minister Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman will hold a meeting with Podium Programme director Tim Newenham next week.
He said the meeting was to seek clarification on some of the podium athletes who performed poorly at the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Asian Games Games and the failure to place Malaysia in the top 10.
Apart from failing in the Asian Games, the country's contingent had also failed to be in the top 10 in the Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia.
“KBS will call him for clarification (regarding the matter).
“The ISN (National Sports Institute) and the MSN (National Sports Council) will also sit together and we shall see what needs to be done,” he told a post-2018 Asian Games news conference in KBS.
Asked on the status of the Podium Programme, Syed Saddiq said he had to get a full post-mortem report on the Asian Games before making any decision.
He said detailed discussions would also be conducted with the parties involved to determine the future of the Podium Programme including athletes, coaches, sports associations and management.
“To conclude now is unfair, must have numerous discussions and get input from stakeholders.
“If we need a major improvement or revamp we need to evaluate all the proposals, need to get the input from the parties involved.
“I have informed MSN and ISN that there should be a major overhaul of the management structure, allocation system, reward and punishment structure so that we can make sure mistakes can be avoided and the success achieved can be continued,” he said.
Malaysia, which finished 14th in the Asian Games which ended on Sept 2, won seven gold, 13 silver and 16 bronze and collected seven gold, five silver and 11 bronze medals to finish 12th in the Commonwealth Games.
Meanwhile, Syed Saddiq said sports that were given targets but failed to win any medals were considered to have failed.
He said the sports were silat, which targeted three gold medals but failed to do so, followed by karate which only won a bronze while wushu and badminton returned empty-handed.
However, he said the rise of athletes from several other sports ensured the initial target was met.
Additionally, he emphasised on the lack of mental strength, physical fitness, tactical and technical aspects which must be rectified quickly.
Meanwhile, Syed Saddiq also announced the implementation of the training programme, Road to Tokyo 2020 as well as the Athletes Preparation Programme to the 2022 Asian Games in Hanzhou, China and 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.
He said sports capable of contributing medals would be given priority under the programme.
“Based on previous achievements, badminton, diving and cycling sports will be the main groups to be given attention but several more sports like archery, shooting and sailing can be given support to vie more competitively at the Olympics.
“A number of sports that have been performing well in the 2018 Commonwealth Games and 2018 Asian Games will surely be given the opportunity to continue training programmes towards the 2022 Commonwealth Games and 2022 Asian Games,” he said.