Malaysian Sports - Where Are We Heading?

December 7, 2011

It has been a while since I last blog. In fact, I deleted all my old blogs. But tonight, I decided to write this piece due to some issues at hand.

Let's discuss about the state of our sports and athleticism in Malaysia; where are we right now and where are we heading. Without a doubt, we want to be a successful sports nation, have our boys and girls making waves in the world of sports. Right now, we have Nicol David and Lee Chong Wei creating waves. My question is who will be replacing them when both hang their rackets?

I don't see Malaysia producing world class athletes anytime soon though. Does it mean we do not have quality talents? The answer is simple - we have the talents. It is the sports development culture or system in Malaysia that is hindering the production line.

1. The auto-pilot syndrome:

1a) We seems to fancy the idea or culture of auto-pilot. Let our boys and girls make waves on their own. The moment they created a tsunami, we step in by way of sponsorships and more trainings either domestic or foreign. That's our version of nurturing and grooming.

1b) The ultimate version is to setup a proper academy to scout, nurture and groom talents. Can we start doing this?

2. Domestic competitive exposure:

2a) In Malaysia, we have too less competitions. What is the point of having talents but too less platform to compete?

2b) We need to create more domestic competitions for our boys and girls to compete because that's the only way for us to gauge their competitiveness.

3. Foreign competitive exposure:

3a) Remember the term "JUARA KAMPUNG"? I guess I don't need to further expand this term.

3b) We have to expose our talents outside Malaysia. It is OK to be trashed, as we can learn more and further improve.

4. Politics in sports:

4a) The biggest problem is having politics in sports. These politicians are not interested to develop sports. They are only keen to earn themselves a seat in the boardroom.

4b) Engage experts to develop sports development programs. Politicians assist in getting the programs approved and well funded, PERIOD.

5. Funding:

5a) Funding is the most crucial. Without good funding, there will be no quality output. Remember the term "PAY PEANUTS, GET MONKEYS"?

5b) Funding sports development programs can be massive because the return on investment can be in the region of 3-5 years or even more.

6. All sports:

6a) We tend to only spend monies on certain sports. Momentarily, we spend more on squash, badminton and football. We do spend on other sports, but pretty small portion. No wonder other sports are going down the drain. Talented athletes in other sports are giving up hope and loosing inspiration.

6b) I have heard many parents telling their kids to pay less attention in sports because sports got no career in Malaysia. Come to think of it, their statement is not very wrong.

6c) Selective sports development is not the way to go. Malaysia has to develop sports in totality.

6d) Malaysia has to listen to the voices of sports. Malaysia has to pay attention to new sports. One good example is MIXED MARTIAL ARTS (MMA). MMA is arriving Asia like a tsunami. Are we going to turn a blind side on MMA or are we to develop this combat sports while it is in it's infancy level?

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