Tuesday, April 8, 2008

Project broken and buried?

Sports editors from the MSM were treated to lunch by Sports Minister Datuk Ismail Sabri Yaakub at the Shangri-La Putrajaya moments ago.

It's a steep learning curve for the Bera MP. Eventually he will come to realise the sports pages enjoy greater liberties than the news pages.

In the process of getting acquainted with the likes of Citizen Nades and Terence of the Sun, Bakar Atan from TV3, V Ashok from Berita Harian and Vijesh Rai from the New Straits Times, among others, YB Ismail assured them he would be keeping a tight rein on the Ministry's coffers.

He will review the Community Centres, the controversial proposed high-performance training centre (HPTC) in Brickendonbury which might be broken and buried for good and maybe plug the loopholes in the Sports Development Act which allows the Minister too much power.

Financial prudence are the key words here. YB Ismail realises his predecessor's four-year rule was wraught with endless issues.

He will also announce the successor to Sports Commissioner, Tan Sri Elyas Omar, by next week. Elyas' tenure ends on April 15. Word is former Ministry's Secretary-General, Datuk Nik Mahmud Nik Yusof, is the man earmarked for the hotseat.

Above all YB Ismail seemed more approachable, sincere and less abrasive than his predecessor. He even gave the journos his e-mail address.

Good start, YB. We will issue a mid-term report card. Don't worry.

7 comments:

PahNur said...

And what was the idea of erecting HPTC? I hope to train the trainers. I think if Malaysians seriously want to bring malaysians sports to the next level ( i think we're still on LG), then perhaps we want to consider training the trainers. I don't mean to train them to perform the sports related, instead, understanding the science of sports.

Our sportsmen cannot perform fueled by just enthusiasm. They need to comprehend their own body, how to get the most out of it. They need to decipher that the human body need to be understood. The physiological, psychological and nutritional aspect of sports need to be explored. Bad attitude and lack of discipline comes from not understanding the gravity of any situation. We wonder how giants like the west and china conquers all. It's because, not only that they work hard, they also work smart.

So, lets train the trainer here. Call in the experts and pay them. Don't waste money overseas. It's just plain dumb.

Anonymous said...

Azalina was the worst Sports Minister Malaysia ever had don't you think?

Anonymous said...

Can Malaysia be accused of discrimination against Beijing?
We're planning for the 2012 Olympics, but has there been any talk of the forward base for the Beijing Olympics in 4 months time, not 4 years time?
Malaysians have a voracious appetite for visiting the UK, talking about visiting the UK, and talking about their visits to the UK.
How come so little talk about plans for a base before and during the Beijing Olympics? Or is there one at all?
Hehehehe... Funny Malaysians...

rizal hashim said...

Pah Nur, you are being too kind. Lower ground floor? Maybe we are still searching for a parking space, hahahha.

In all fairness, the relevant authorities have done a fair bit in educating the coaches.

They have the Coaching Board, currently helmed by Sheikh Kamaruddin Sheikh Ahmad, under the auspices of the NSC.

They offer level 1, 2, 3 sports specific and sports science certs

Ultimately it hinges on the athlete. The coach's job is to impart his or her knowledge so that the disciples could translate it into the arena.

Of course I agree with you that we should not be spending money to build a kampung away from our kampung!

Anonymous said...

rizal,some correction. Coaching board is now at ISN and not NSC anymore. Awkward is it?

did the minister tell anything about MSN's coffer?

Unknown said...

As long as the minister don't focus on some crap like sukan wanita thing,.paint ball crap and focus on real sports and not x-treme sports crap,..then he should be alright..

Anonymous said...

we don't need a forward base for Beijing Olympic cos the weather is almost the same in Malaysia. We are even in the same time zone (+0800 GMT). Other countries are looking to come to Malaysia prior to the games and we can learn a lot from these countries (AUS, US, UK etc).
Yeah, i just don't understand Azalina is so hell bend on getting a base in UK..what's so great about UK la? do i smell a 'deal'???
anyway, why go to UK, which is damn expensive? you want a forward base in europe, choose somewhere in the middle of europe la, UK is at the far end of europe. you don't see AUS setting a base there. in fact they have a base in italy, and it's quite central.
anyway, i don't think we are at that level yet. money should be invested in upgrading the facility in bukit jalil and train the staff...