Photo: Bernama
A STUDY is being carried out to explore ways to improve participation among all races in professional sports.
Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh said data compiled by her ministry showed a number of sports drew disproportionate participation from certain races.
“For example, in archery, many (of the athletes) are Malays. Meanwhile, in athletics, many are Indians.
“But talent is not race-specific as it exists across all races. This issue may boil down to accessibility,” she said on Monday (Jan 27).
Yeoh said the data had been presented to the Cabinet and that her ministry (KBS) was identifying ways to work with other ministries to tackle the issue.
Separately, Yeoh said KBS would ensure the salary schemes of coaches were competitive to ensure the country was able to retain their talents.
She was asked to comment on Wendy Ng, former national diver, who was reported to have accepted the role as a coach for Singapore Aquatics after retiring last year from competitive diving.
Wendy had coached the Federal Territories athletes for the Malaysia Games (Sukma) in Sarawak last August.
Yeoh said her ministry had, last year, increased the salary for coaches of certain sports to ensure they were up to date.
“However, certain sports, like football and badminton, have different salary schemes,” she added.
The minister stressed that sports was “a growing and competitive industry” and that huge investment was needed.
“People often question why sports require so much budget. But sports are more than just recreation, they are a competitive industry.
“Other countries are investing a lot, and we must do so too if we want to remain competitive,” she said.
Elaborating, Yeoh also called on private sector entities looking to invest in corporate social responsibility initiatives to sponsor sporting associations.
Yeoh was met after a walkabout at Jalan Burung Kasawari in Taman Bukit Maluri, Kuala Lumpur, to oversee the project to upgrade the roof over a basketball court there.
The project started in late 2023 and was completed in November last year at a cost of RM200,000.
It was undertaken by Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) with funds from KBS.
