SHAH ALAM – Sports that perform and deliver medals are those that should receive the most amount of funding, said Selangor Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari.
He was responding to criticism from Malaysian Hockey Confederation president, Datuk Seri Subahan Kamal, who demanded the Selangor state government put hockey on par with football in terms of development funds.
Amirudin said sports associations like the Selangor Hockey Association (SHA) are under the Selangor Sports Council (SSC) and they can put forward development plans for their respective sports to that council.
He added that the SSC is fully funded by the state government and is the epicentre for bringing development plans to life and implementing them.
“Sports like football have their own history and tradition and every sport would want the same legacy.
“If you ask me, the real contributor of medals and that gives us a big chance to win the Malaysian Games (Sukma) is swimming.
“If you look at it that way, swimming needs more funding than any other sports, so please refer to the SSA to them to arrange it (development programmes),” Amirudin said at a press conference at the Selangor state legislative assembly building, here today.
Previously, Selangor Youth, Sports, and Entrepreneurship Committee chairman Mohd Najwan Halimi clarified that it had never restricted its budget allocation for hockey development in the state.
The state government has in fact allocated over RM100,000 to SHA for its programmes, including the preparation of state players for the upcoming Sukma.
It was reported that the Selangor government allocated RM19 million from its RM2.53 billion state budget spending plan.
The SSC is set to receive RM8 million to reinforce the state’s holistic sports development approach, with an additional RM1 million earmarked for its esports team.
However, the lion’s share of RM10 million has been allocated to Selangor FC for its preparation for the upcoming 2024/2025 Malaysia Super League season and the AFC Asian Champions League 2 competition.
The 21st edition of Sukma is scheduled to take place from August 17 to 24, in Sarawak. – May 3, 2024