What are your funding priorities, Syed Saddiq?

LETTER | Given our performance in this edition of the SEA Games, which marks our fifth least impressive away showing since the inception of the Games at 55 gold medals –what is going on in the Ministry of Youth and Sports?

Some would blame our lacklustre performance on Youth and Sports Minister Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman (above) for his clear prioritisation of e-sports, but if we were to attribute sports success alone on medals, we would miss the mark according to the results of the SEA e-sports tournaments.

Now some have surmised that Syed Saddiq’s push for unconventional sports is how he hopes to differentiate himself from his predecessors. That is well and good, but it should not be at the expense of existing ones.

Syed Saddiq is no stranger to public disapproval, especially as of late because of his social media posts during the SEA Games, the arguments put forth by his critics hold water.

His programmes such as the four-tier national programme operated under the National Sports Council (NSC) do not work.

No doubt that there are structural problems left over by the Barisan Nasional government. But it is the responsibility of the Pakatan Harapan government to address them.

While proponents might point towards Syed Saddiq’s five new initiatives that were announced on April 23 during the National Sportsman and Sportswoman Awards as evidence of progress, let’s keep in mind that these were practically rebranded from the previous administration.

His new programme, "Pembangunan Sukan Prestasi Tinggi Negara Melalui Program Team MAS" which links corporate sponsors with programmes directly under the ministry undermines existing programmes by double-dipping on the same sponsors that fund National Sports Associations (NSA) and community programmes.

For all the talk of sports being representative of a nation’s honour, it is surprising that Syed Saddiq’s solution to funding issues is to rely on corporate funding instead of getting the government to pay for it.

However, when the grouses of our national athletes in securing funding have become an increasingly regular fixture on social media, it shows that there is a problem here.

Take, for example, the brouhaha when national discus thrower Muhammad Irfan Shamsuddin (below) expressed his misgivings over the lack of vision and clarity on Syed Saddiq's part for Malaysian sports back in January.

Minor sports continue to suffer and they continue to face an all too familiar situation where a lack of funds and incessant bureaucracy stymies efforts by the association to organise and train its athletes.

Yes, we should punish the excesses of previous sports administrators as seen in their tendencies for mega-projects but this should not come at the cost of our athletes.

We should not be cutting their access to funding while expecting them to help break gold tally records at international events. Nor should we promise to meet them and hear their grouses on social media but cannot follow up with them when it matters the most.

There is a clear need for the prioritisation of sports science, innovative coaching and digitalisation in the administration of sports. Syed Saddiq needs to look beyond the NSC and go to the ground to work closely with national sports associations on not only the national level but also on the state level.

This should be his priority instead of appointing party members to key positions as seen in the infamous appointment of 13 Armada members as state sports coordinators and Penang PPBM Information Chief Yaakob Osman as head of the ministry's corporate communications.

If Syed Saddiq is willing to take his "share" of the credit for our sporting successes, he should also be willing to properly support them.

It’s time to listen and fight for the resources that our athletes need. 

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.