KUALA LUMPUR – The government’s allocation of RM184 million in Budget 2024 to the sports industry saw a significant decline of 46.1% compared to the RM399 million allocated last year.
This year’s allocation includes RM50 million for the refurbishment and maintenance of sports facilities throughout the country.
At the same time, RM72 million will be used to strengthen the current ecosystem of the podium programme athletes, which includes an RM20 million allocation for the ongoing Road to Gold Programme.
“We celebrate the success of our national contingent in clinching a total of 32 medals in the recently concluded Hangzhou Asian Games. The government will continue to support and strengthen the podium programme athletes to continue our quest for winning our first gold medal ahead of the 2024 Paris Olympics,” said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim when tabling the supply bill.
The government will also inject a total of RM12 million into the National Sports Council for training and programmes for the development of Malaysia’s para-athletes to participate in international sporting events.
Anwar further stated that since reception towards sports programmes and national-level competitions has been impressive this year, the government will continue its matching grants of RM50 million to encourage the establishment of more high-performance sports events by sports bodies and the private sector.
Meanwhile, Anwar said there will be a tax exemption of 10% from the aggregate income of individuals or companies that contribute to non-profit organisations implementing grassroots sports development programmes.
The government will also provide tax exemptions for purchases of sports equipment up to RM1,000. – October 13, 2023