Sports will play its role to curb social ills, says KJ
PETALING JAYA: Sports will step up its role as one of the mediums to fight social ills.
This was the assurance given by Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin after he gave a big thumbs-up to the budget allocated for his ministry by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak on Friday.
A total of RM1.123bil has been set aside for Malaysian sports.
This is largely due to Malaysia’s success in becoming the overall champions at the Kuala Lumpur SEA Games in August and second best in the region at the KL Asean Para Games in September.
“It’s a budget that looks into the future, responsible and innovative,” said Khairy.
“It’s an inclusive budget that caters to every level of the community. It looks beyond 2018. It’ll help us lay a sturdy foundation to cultivate skills, values and excellence towards 2050.”
Khairy said that the RM112mil allotted for the building of 14 new sports complexes would be put to good use.
“The ministry will ensure that all existing and new facilities will be made accessible to the youths. It’ll be a healthy alternative for them to fill up their free time,” he said.
Khairy was also delighted that the government continued to show faith on their existing programmes by allocating RM1bil for FitMalaysia, National Sports Day, athletes’ training, grassroots programmes and the development of football.
“Sports development will continue to be our core business to ensure a good future for Malaysian sport. We’ll emphasise on the development of football, but other sports will not be neglected.
“We hope all our initiatives to strengthen the grassroots programme will inculcate a society proud of its sports culture.”
With the Bukit Jalil Sports School (BJSS) being one of the main production lines of future talents for the country, Khairy added that the school would continue to receive attention from the ministry.
A total of RM20mil to upgrade the infrastructures at the BJSS will be done to give the best for the young talents.
Khairy was also impressed with the setting up of the Socio-Economy Research Institute (SERI) to help youths overcome social ills through sports initiatives.