IT has been arguably a successful year for Malaysian sports. Sports Minister Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said concurs, but says much more has to be done if Malaysia is to really progress in sports. She talks to Timesport’s K.M. Boopathy.
The final curtain was the Sea Games in Korat and we did well to finish second behind Thailand despite the many challenges. Success cannot be measured in isolation but in totality. And success does not come overnight. We cannot take each Games or Championship on its own and measure our success. It has to be over a period of time. Without doubt, there has been progress from year to year. This year, a major measurement of our success has been the Sea Games.
In terms of organisation, world class sporting events such as the Roger Federer-Pete Sampras exhibition match, the Champions Youth Cup, Le Tour de Langkawi and Formula One have raised Malaysia's profile.
The 68 gold in Korat was the nation's biggest success in the Sea Games outside Malaysia. Does this indicate Malaysian sport is on the rise?
Naturally from the results, we have improved, especially in terms of gold medals where we did better than in Manila (2005) and also exceeded the 64-gold target set by NSC.
We also finished second behind hosts Thailand whereas countries like Indonesia, Vietnam and Philippines, which have bigger population and are dominant in sports, were behind us.
But the critics look at percentages and make the achievement look insignificant. I have to say that the public will always look at position, and we got the second position. In fact, the Prime Minister is pleased, the Cabinet is pleased. Even the sports ministers of other nations were concerned about their gold haul than the percentage of the medals as there were high expectations to better the Manila haul.
Of course we would want to do better but at the same time, I'm not saying we are going to bask in glory, but take it in the right perspective and continue to work harder. Our next target will of course be to close the gap with Thailand but it is not going to come easy.
The biggest challenge in Korat was the same problems we faced before -- the subjective sports. I believe we were lucky, as although there were some biased judging, we managed to have balanced results. It was not just about performance but more about managing and the associations must play a bigger role.
Development was the key theme of the Korat Sea Games and Malaysia's contingent was the second largest behind Thailand. What was the success rate of the athletes sent under the development banner?
About 20 per cent of our athletes were under the development banner. We need to put in a lot of hard work especially at the development level. Achievements among the development athletes have been encouraging, but we want the percentage to be higher.
While we have been doing well in sports like badminton, squash and bowling at the international level, other sports like lawn bowls, archery, cycling, swimming and hockey are showing vast improvement. Even athletics is showing signs that it is back on track. While we have been improving, there is still a lot more to be done.
Coming to the Eight Core Sports, what is the progress of the associations under the programme?
The Ministry and the NSC have been working closely with the national associations because they are the guardians of the game. Honestly, the progress has been very slow. While funds and expertise can come from the ministry and the NSC, the associations themselves have to be passionate about developing their sports and taking them to the highest possible level. That is why we also have dialogues with the associations because we believe it is a partnership which will bring results.
Maybe next year, we really have to look at the partnership between the core sports and certain private corporations. The success of sports in America is due to the sponsorships of private corporations and I believe it should be that way in the future. The government cannot be just subsidising regardless of the performance of the associations. In years to come, associations must be sponsored by corporations, and then you will get quality.
You have repeatedly spoken about the Ranking System which is to be introduced next month. How will it be implemented and what are the criteria to determine which sport is doing well and which is not?
The ranking system which we have been working closely with the OCM could well be the answer to sporting excellence in our country. The systematic monitoring of sports associations will in turn decide the amount of funding they will get.
It will also ensure funding is utilised wisely with the result oriented concept. Of course, we will also be emphasising on development, and associations who have good programmes and produce a large pool of back-up athletes stand to receive more.
One of the biggest challenges is to make the government servants to think out of the box. The bureaucracy procedures of NSC must be tight although they have some flexibility. And I have always stated that personalities working for NSC or NSI must be specialised in their fields.
Generally we have personalities who are not well versed in sports running the associations. When we communicate with the associations, there is always a clash of priorities. I believe the whole idea of the ranking system is for NSC to be also aware of the performance of the national associations and not just the performance of the athletes.
The national associations are run very independently but if they get subsidy from the government, there are certain expectations. I was surprised to find out that one association has actually paid RM10,000 to its executive secretary. We do approve requests for funding but the funding that we give, is spent more on management. Not for progress, not for athletes, not for development. There must also be joint responsibility between NSC and the associations so that the blame game does not arise.
The High Performance Training Centre in Brickendonbury was rejected by the local council. Has the project been scrapped or will Malaysia be appealing?
My personal view is we should just drop it as there are other offers and proposals. We are going everywhere now from China to Russia, to even America. Datuk Dr Ramlan Aziz (National Sports Institute director general) will present the pros and cons of re-submitting a proposal for Brickendonbury to the Cabinet Committee. And then there are local councils (in Britain).
Tan Sri Elyas Omar's contract as Sports Commissioner has not been renewed. Who is his replacement and what would you like to see the incoming Sports Commissioner do?
I personally believe that Elyas has been doing a good job and this is the reason we renewed his contract last year. Before that, the SC was the chief secretary of the Ministry and this is ridiculous. The SC can be a former staff member of the ministry but not within the ministry. We will announce the new SC when the time comes but there will be no vacuum when Elyas leaves (next month). The appointment will be immediate.
Do you agree there are weaknesses in the Sports Development Act (1997) which sometimes makes implementation difficult and is there a move to amend the Act?
I totally agree with that. We have to make amendments to make the Act tougher. We are the only country to have a Sports Act and a Sports Commissioner.
I guess since the government fully funds the associations, there should be a way of monitoring them.
Vietnam is the latest to offer citizenship to foreigners. Malaysia had done it for the 1998 Commonwealth Games and will it take the same approach again?
The world continues to change. In the Beijing Olympics, you are going to see a lot of foreign personalities representing developed and developing countries.
The Doha Asian Games was an introduction where Qatar didn't have enough athletes, imported them and they won gold.
If the Malaysian public are looking at winning gold in every Games and giving importance to positioning, then it does not matter who represents the country.
But the Malaysian public is still sensitive about the athlete being Malaysian. When we talk about local participation, we did very well compared to other countries. I do agree the future will change and it's only a matter of when. The public should decide. It's extremely sensitive.
2008 is a big year for Malaysian sport as hopes are high that the nation's wait for an Olympic gold will end in Beijing. What else would you like to see Malaysian sport achieve next year?
We certainly look forward to seeing Malaysia winning our first gold, and badminton seems to be the sport which can deliver this. But if they do not, then it is going to be another failure for us.
That is why I want other sports to step up their efforts and stand a chance to win medals at the Olympics.
I hope it will happen in Beijing, but at the same time, we must realise that it is only four years since the last Olympics and for us to pluck champions from nowhere would be impossible.
It takes time through development but I strongly believe we have been on the right track and we will certainly see improved performance from our athletes in the Olympics. The archers, swimmers and cyclists could well spring some surprises for us.
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