National Stadium's field upgrade a worthwhile project - Syed Saddiq

A proposed RM10 million upgrade of the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil would ensure that its field would be of a very high standard and durable, said Youth and Sports Minister Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman.

He said the new field would be more suitable for the country’s weather and would prove to be a worthwhile investment.

“We want to replace it for the sake of sports because we were told by sports industry players and our media friends that the existing field is good but not of a very high standard; we have discussed with sports associations and decided to upgrade the field.

“We want to ensure that the stadium, the home ground for Harimau Malaya, is in the best condition, durable...although high cost, (it would be) a worthwhile investment,” he told reporters after launching the second edition of the Yellow Ribbon project at Spacerubix in Puchong today.

The ministry, with the cooperation of the Home Ministry, launched the Yellow Ribbon project in October 2018, to give a second chance to former prisoners and former inmates of rehabilitation centres, especially youths.

Asked on e-sports athlete Muhammad Aiman Hafizi Ahmad who could not represent the country because he does not have an identity card, Syed Saddiq said the ministry had made an application to get him citizenship.

“I have raised this matter before and need to apply more pressure because it is unfair that we cannot grant citizenship to one sports industry when the individual concerned has long resided in Malaysia,” he added.

Muhammad Aiman, from Perak, was raised by his adoptive parents after his biological mother, who is Indonesian, went missing after he was born.

Muhammad Aiman’s bid for Malaysian citizenship was rejected once while his second application was said to be incomplete.

- Bernama