KUALA LUMPUR – Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh calls upon Malaysians to maintain their faith in the unity government following her reaffirmed commitment to steering the sports sector towards success.
The Segambut MP, who is the second woman to hold the portfolio after Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said from 2004 to 2008, today commemorates her first anniversary of leading the ministry.
In her Facebook post today, Hannah expressed gratitude to her team, including deputy minister Adam Adli Abd Halim and secretary-general K. Nagulendran, for their dedication to realising her vision for the sports ecosystem in the country.
She also acknowledged the support of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and DAP secretary-general Anthony Loke for entrusting her with the opportunity to lead the Youth and Sports Ministry.
“Today is exactly a year since I was sworn in as Minister of Youth and Sports. Worked as though every day was my last day in Putrajaya… 365 days of sprinting, working on reforms that will change the ecosystem for our stakeholders.
“It takes a solid team of civil servants in (the ministry), hungry enough for the same positive change to make things happen,” read the caption.
Categorising the ministry’s achievements into three pillars, Hannah outlined milestones in making sports and facilities more accessible to the public, strengthening the sports ecosystem and empowering youth.
This includes opening the Bukit Jalil National Stadium to schools for free during sports days, providing free swimming classes for B40 children and introducing a tax relief of RM1,000 for sports training fees starting in 2024.
The ministry also launched a Safe Sport Code to protect the rights and welfare of the sports community, allocated a RM40 million sports corporation grant to enhance athlete performance through organised tournaments, and initiated contributions from the Employees Provident Fund and Social Security Organisation for national athletes starting January next year.
Further underlining her commitment, Hannah established a Road to Gold committee aimed at supporting athletes in their pursuit of Malaysia’s first Olympic gold medal. – December 3, 2023