KUALA LUMPUR, July 6 (Bernama) -- Malaysian coaches are expected to benefit through coaching scholarships offered by Australia, once a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Malaysia and Australia was signed by end of the year said Australian Foreign Affairs minister Stephen Smith.
He said the MoU would be signed during Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Ahmad Shabery Cheek's visit to Australia in December.
"The cooperation between both countries, especially in the sporting events, are at an optimum level now but there is no formal MoU. We need to formalise it with a government to government initiative so that we can share expertise in the related fields," he told reporters after visiting the Australian High Commission, here Monday.
Also present was Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) president, Tan Sri Tunku Imran Tuanku Ja'afar and National Sports Institute director-general Datuk Dr Ramlan Abdul Aziz.
The minister in on a one day visit to this country and will leave to Australia tomorrow.
Stephen said it was up to Malaysia to nominate the right candidates and the type of sports that they specialize.
"Australia is known for their competence in several world class sports such as hockey, athletics, cricket, swimming and rugby," he said.
He said Malaysian coaches would probably be placed at the famous Australian Institute of Sports (AIS) in Canberra.
A check on the AIS website revealed that the AIS, located on a 65-hectare site in the suburb of Bruce, Canberra, offered assistance to athletes through a network of coaches at their campuses in Brisbane, Gold Coast, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth, plus through a number of regional centres.
According to the website, approximately 700 athletes received scholarships from the Institute each year.
-- BERNAMA
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