Malacca rep slams govt over two-year vacancy of state sports director seat

 

Malacca's former sports exco Kerk Chee Yee has blasted the state government for its failure to fill the position of Malacca sports council director two years after letting go of the incumbent.

Kerk (above), who was communications, multimedia, NGO, youth and sports exco in the Pakatan Harapan government that was toppled in 2020, had at the time described the move as a political purge.

“Through answers in my oral submission to the Malacca State Legislative Assembly, the state government has confirmed that the position of director of the State Sports Council has not been filled in the past two years.

“Former director Arifin Ghani had his loan contract terminated in April 2020, after the change of the state government. He then returned to Putrajaya to continue his service.

“At the time, I described the decision as ‘political purging’ and said that it did not help in ensuring a smooth transition of power,” said the Ayer Keroh assemblyperson in a statement today.

He said the state government confirmed in a reply to the state assembly that two candidates were nominated for the position in the past two years.

“Both nominations were rejected by the Public Service Commission of Malaysia (PSC) on the grounds of ‘education level and experience in sports’.

“This could mean that the candidates are political appointments and not from the PSC’s own proposal, as if they were, there will be no issue of not meeting the requirements/qualifications.

“I am very shocked and disappointed that the state government does not give priority in filling the vacancy to such an extent that the post of director of the state sports council can be vacant for up to two years,” he said.

Kerk highlighted a number of issues and problems in sports development that require the efforts and input of the director, especially amid the pandemic.

“In the last months of my tenure as youth and sports exco, among the issues in my planning/action that have not been implemented included the development of e-Sports, which will be part of Sukma, dilemmas faced by athletes at the grassroots level (choose a sports career or education) and the development of neglected sports such as e-Sports, cycling, wushu and boxing.

“These issues should be given priority, but the state government failed to do so,” he claimed. - Mkini