Foundation to seek annual funding

Faridul is one of five former national athletes chosen to find jobs related to health and fitness under an agreement with Agitos PLT and Yakeb. — Filepic

THE National Athletes Welfare Foundation (Yakeb) will submit an official request soon to the government via the Finance Ministry for RM3mil in annual funding to cover its operational costs.

Yakeb chairman Datuk Noorul Ariffin Abdul Majeed said this was to cover the welfare and medical costs of former athletes, who were members of the foundation.

“Yakeb spends around RM1.7mil annually to help members obtain medical services, apart from welfare activities including monthly subsidies, ” he said after the signing of an agreement between Yakep and Mohammad Azman Abdul Rahman, the chief executive officer of Agitos PLT, a company which has developed a health and fitness online application.

He said Yakeb received about RM250,000 from the Youth and Sports Ministry in 2018 but it was not enough to bear rising medical costs for its members each year.

“In fact, we had to fork out our own money to cover members’ medical costs which sometimes reached between RM20,000 and RM40,000 per person, ” he said.

Under the agreement, Agitos PLT will assist Yakeb members to find jobs related to health and fitness once they are no longer national athletes, through an application known as Fit4P.

Meanwhile, Agitos PLT co-founder Mohd Nafiizwan Adnan said five former national athletes – Noor Aziera Taip (archery), Mohd Azrin Abd Malek (silat), Jasmin Nabila Sukardi (taekwondo), M. Sangralingam (boxing) and Faridul Masri (para athlete) – had been chosen as pioneers for the use of the application.

At the signing ceremony, Noorul Ariffin also presented 10 Yakeb members with various assistance totalling RM18,350. – Bernama