KUALA LUMPUR, 3 Nov 2018:
The RM100 million allocation for sports announced under Budget 2019 clearly shows the government’s commitment to helping national athletes win the country’s first Olympic gold medal at the 2020 Tokyo Games.
The nation has already charted history with its first gold medals at the 2016 Rio Paralympic – with three garnered in 100m sprint by Mohamad Ridzuan Mohd Puzi, shot putt by Muhammad Ziyad Zolkefli and long jump Abdul Latif Romly.
National Sports Council (NSC) director-general Datuk Ahmad Shapawi Ismail welcomed the announcement, saying the allocation would be used to assist athletes prepare for the various Games in the coming years.
“God willing, the allocation covers the training programmes beyond 2020, including for the 2022 Asian and Para Asian Games (in China) and the 2022 Commonwealth Games (in England).
“The allocation is for both able-bodied and Para athletes in the Podium Programme as well as at the senior and development (national) levels,” he said in a brief statement yesterday.
Shapawi is also confident the RM10 million allocated to the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) would help E-Sports enthusiasts, like computer software engineers and game publishers, as well as assist the Youth and Sports Ministry make Malaysia the hub of E-Sports in Southeast Asia.
“The allocation to MDEC will help the E-Sports industry to be more exciting by indirectly making the E-Sports activities more uniformed and organised.”
Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng, while tabling Budget 2019 at Dewan Rakyat, announced the allocation of RM100 million for the preparation of athletes for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, where it is hoped that they will bring back the country’s first Olympic gold medal.
He also announced the allocation of RM10 million to MDEC to develop and promote E-Sports in the country.
The RM1 billion from Budget 2019 for the Youth and Sports Ministry (KBS) will result in a 25% increase in allocation to agencies like the National Sports Council (MSN), National Sports Institute (NSI) and the State Youth and Sports Department.
Deputy Minister Steven Sim Chee Keong, who confirmed the ministry has been allotted a budget of around RM1 billion, said the allocation would be channelled towards youths, national athletes and communities.
“This Budget is focused, prudent and in line with our policies. For example, there is an 11% reduction in expenditure to manage the KBS headquarters. That is quite a hefty drop. It means the ministry must be disciplined in terms of financial governance and not spend frivolously.
“But the allocation for NSC and NSI has risen, as has the provision for youth and sports and communities. This is good news for sports fans and communities … not forgetting the development of eSports.
“When the government shrank its own budget and expanded it for the people, I found it to be a very positive development. It’s good news for the people.”
Lim noted the additional RM10 million has been set aside to promote and develop eSports as an activity and industry as it has attracted the younger generation to be involved in software engineering and digital game development.
Steven said it is also interesting to note the Budget managed to narrow the ratio gap of KBS’s operating and development expenditures from 70:30 in 2018 to 64:36 in 2019. “Now we are giving more money for development.
“As for the youngsters, there will be a budget of RM70 million in the future for a leadership school. That will be a new budget. We also have an increased budget to empower the National Youth Skills Institute.”
For the record, RM1 billion was allocated to KBS in Budget 2018, RM1.2 billion in 2017 and RM930 million in 2016.
The government’s move to allocate RM10 million in the 2019 Budget for the development of E-Sports is a shot in the arm for the sport’s debut at the 2019 Manila SEA Games.
Olympic Council of Malaysia president Datuk Seri Mohamad Norza Zakaria said with the help of such a substantial fund, surely Esport Malaysia (ESM) could draw up a more complete preparation and focus on the grassroots development of the sport.
“The RM10 million allocation for E-Sports is helping to fast track the development of the sport while at the same time prepare a strong team to face the 2019 SEA Games in the Philippines.”
Earlier, the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) announced that E-Sports would be an event which would offer medals at the 2022 Asian Games in China while Paris would consider the event at the 2024 Olympics.
Meanwhile, ESM President Datuk Latt Shariman Abdullah welcomed the government’s allocation and described it as a positive development for the E-Sports community in the country.
“The RM10 million fund is in line with Malaysia’s status as the sixth country in the world that recognised E-Sports players as athletes.
“ESM proposes to build a complete training centre in the Klang Valley for the country’s E-Sports athletes to undergo training and they will no longer need to rely on expensive private training centres.”
E-Sports games such as Dota 2, Mobile Legends, Counter Strike, FIFA, PES and League of Legend were seen as among the games that would be E-Sports’s medal options at the 2019 SEA Games and the 2022 Asian Games.
– Bernama