Malaysia’s abject mediocrity in sport is there for all to see, and the problems are like a horror show.
At the recent SEA Games in Phnom Penh, the country’s performance was feeble, fractured, frustrating and forgettable.
Team Malaysia kept those levels low from start to the end, and certain people would be worried about their jobs I should imagine.
It was total mediocrity, and raises the questions: Is Malaysia a sporting nation? Why is Malaysia so bad at sport?
The lacklustre results, that condemned the country to its worst-ever performance at the biennial games, have left the Malaysian sporting establishment scraping for answers – or, failing that, excuses.
The national contingent scooped a measly 34 gold, 45 silver and 96 bronze medals, embarrassingly finishing seventh overall among the 11 nations.
Since the SEA Games is viewed as a hotbed for sports development, Malaysia came across as having little in its young athletes to make their opponents shiver in fear and excitement.
Expect youth and sports minister Hannah Yeoh and others to be as edgy as a box of kittens when they address the media today to explain Malaysia’s somewhat flaccid SEA Games campaign.
The jitters were pronounced on Monday when Malaysia was struggling to meet its target of 40 gold medals.
As if to take attention away from the disastrous outing, Yeoh tweeted a poster to boast 10 initiatives by her ministry over the past five months.
First on the list was the big screen programme for football fans to watch live matches, leaving some to wonder how this project improves sports performance.
Some of the other schemes might have ticked the right boxes, but the nation demands action, not words.
Now is the time for Yeoh to be bold, not to be timid, to pick up, brush off and start all over again.
The system is in a mess and our performances are getting ever worse, even as some Southeast Asian countries continue to invest heavily in finding, funding and fostering medal-winning athletes.
In Malaysia, sports are fighting each other for a share of a cake that keeps getting smaller.
In some sports, clubs are seen as a threat, because associations and other related agencies fear losing control, and by extension, funding.
Everything from grassroots to elite performance is in peril because of a lack of money, significant challenges at governance level, and no obvious way out of reliance on public funding.
Changing policies, processes and rules is not enough. We need to transform the mindsets and performances of all involved in sport, and that cannot be achieved in town hall meetings, a few workshops or policy statements.
We have to create the strongest set of foundations to begin the rebuilding process, and then to compete with the best.
We need to prioritise junior development, attract diverse skills, find new partners, improve innovation, build our understanding of the human body and the science of biomechanics in sport, and to produce new and exciting events.
Blunders and incompetence
Given the global standing that nations can achieve through sport – including the political capital that a government can gain through overseeing such triumphs – are administrators doing enough to ensure success?
The reality is that years of policy blunders and incompetence have severely damaged Malaysia’s reputation as a once formidable sporting nation.
National sports associations (NSAs) lack professionalism, and the complacent and somewhat isolationist approach of these bodies will work no longer.
Unless NSAs start becoming responsible and transparent, and appoint the right people, no amount of funding, no amount of effort, no committee will bring results.
Many argue for the involvement of more former sportsmen on boards to improve administration, but it is hard to judge if this would work until more get involved.
Training staff are undervalued and underpaid, and coaches are deserting us because they have been overlooked or because they can earn far more in other countries under far better conditions.
Malaysia’s sporting infrastructure – lacking sports centres, and academies where tactics and skills are taught and learnt – is appalling.
The government and local authorities would rather sell land to developers than protect football pitches.
We all love a medal, but we don’t seem to care about the development of sports, and neither are we too concerned that a too-intensive school curriculum offers little time for proper sport.
Is gold medal chasing distracting us from where our money should really be spent?
It is up to our leaders to decide how important sporting achievement on the world stage is to the nation’s wellbeing. - FMT
The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of MMKtT.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.