Syed Saddiq: Let e-sports be enjoyed all over the country

The Youth and Sports Ministry wants to ensure the development of electronic sports (e-sports), so that it can be enjoyed at all levels nationwide.

Its Minister Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman said through the E-sports Strategic Development Plan, the government will ensure the allocation of RM20 million from Budget 2020 for the development of e-sports.

He stressed that his ministry is proposing to organise a league system for e-sports to produce more competitive athletes at the international level, apart from giving space to new teams to compete more professionally.

“In future, we will have our first National League held at the state level, so that e-sports could be felt at all levels of the country and not just in urban areas.

“At the same time, we want the development of this industry to be more vibrant by organising more tournaments at the international level. We want to ensure more investments in e-sports from abroad,” he said after launching the E-Sports Development Strategic Plan at Universiti Malaya last night.

When tabling Budget 2020 at Dewan Rakyat last month, Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng said the government recognised the huge potential of e-sports and will provide RM20 million allocation in 2020.

The e-sports development strategic plan will emphasise five main strategies covering stakeholders in the industry such as professional players, industry drivers, investors and government agencies.

The five-year strategic plan from 2020 to 2025 was in line with the efforts of the government to ensure that e-sports grows throughout the country.

According to record, last year, Malaysia received recognition as among the countries capable of attracting and opening opportunities for the e-sports industry following the successful organising of several series of championships at global level, such as Kuala Lumpur Major Dota 2, Mobile Legends World Championship 2019 and World E-sports Games.

For the first time, e-sports will be one of the medal awarding events at the 2019 SEA Games and the Asian Games 2022.

- Bernama