How long will the pipeline overflow with feel good stories Hannah?

IT did not come as a surprise to many when Youth and Sports Minister, Hannah Yeoh, scored 39% in a survey conducted by media organisations on the people’s level of satisfaction with the Cabinet’s first 100 days.

In the survey, Hannah, only the second female Minister given the portfolio after Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said (2004-2007), was ranked third behind Transport Minister, Anthony Loke and Prime Minister-cum-Finance Minister, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

Hannah’s podium finish, in sports lingo so to speak, is the outcome for her ability to hit the ground running since Day 1.

The 44-year-old mother of two has succeeded in picking the low hanging fruits and is not afraid to think outside the regulatory limits that box in bureaucrats.

She has been engaging the various groups of stakeholders through the town hall concept as well as organising closed door sessions with a few.

Realising Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) owner Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim’s influence in the football scene and strong social media presence, Hannah seems to have gotten his buy-in.

A friendly party to both the Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) and the FA of Malaysia (FAM), Hannah is bent on getting everyone to be on the same page.

Knowing football’s universal appeal, Hannah was quick to address the issues surrounding the National Stadium pitch and the Jay Chou concert and arranged for big screen showings of selected matches involving Harimau Malaya and the Super League games.

The announcement of matching grant in the 2023 Budget unveiled on February 24, along with tax incentives for the private sector, is a boon for the industry.

Under her watch, the Ministry is poised to publish the amount of grant allocated for all national sports associations (NSAs) on the website, which may reflect the disparity in funding.

She has also given her assurance no NSAs will be side-lined or overlooked, promising an inventory of all assets under the Ministry in their bid to identify potential offices for the associations.

She has been to football matches in the past three months, more than her entire life and has taken a liking to those running the game to such an extent that Malaysian Football League (MFL) chief executive, Stuart Ramalingam, has been linked to the role of running the Paris Gold project.

The Sports Ministry Open Day, again an unprecedented exercise, to be held on the first Friday of every month will provide the best service to the public and speed up the approval process for organising international events.

Hannah has ticked all the boxes in such a short period of time, having met former champions such as Datuk Lee Chong Wei, Datuk Nicol David and Datuk Mirnawan Nawawi over breakfast, dining with OCM bigwigs and meeting former Sports Ministers.

But history suggests the overflowing pipeline of feel good stories will not last long.

With the Federal Government heavily in debt, one doubts if the minority sports would be able to enjoy a bigger slice of the economic pie, with no additional budget allocated for grassroots and development as the emphasis is on the short-term gain for the Paris Olympics Gold project.

While she has been going out of her way to tackle the NGOs, Hannah has yet to fully utilise the government machinery such as the National Sports Council (NSC), National Sports Institute (NSI) and collaborate closely with the Ministries of Education and Higher Education to understand the policies which put us where we are today.

When you practise openness in the name of transparency, there is bound to be an endless supply of complaints and questions which may lead to dissatisfaction among certain quarters.

Hannah cannot be playing the role of Santa Claus all the time.

Eventually she will realise the Ministry is not in business of pleasing people, especially in an area considered the perfect ground to master the intricate techniques of political pugilism.

Hannah has to adopt a tactical position, in a fickle world when you can be a hero one day and a zero the next.

She has to take the accolades with the curses. And listen to the right people.