INTERVIEW | While many might associate sports with just winning and losing, Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh believes that it can play a part in bringing people together and improving health, as well as closing social gaps.
Malaysia has its elite sportspersons who are visible, but the key is initiatives that help reach out to all Malaysians, be they children from the B40 group or senior citizens, she told Malaysiakini.
“I really want to help the struggling youth as much as possible. That’s why one of our programmes was to teach swimming to children from B40 families who live in areas which are hotspots for drowning.
“We found that swimming was seen as more of a middle-class sport and that many B40 in PPR (People’s Housing Scheme) flats had no opportunity.
“So, we introduced the programme firstly to reduce the number of drowning cases but at the same time, we are identifying new talent,” said Yeoh.
She said while Malaysian sports fans might expect the government to produce swimming champions like past stars Nurul Huda Abdullah and Jeffrey Ong, people need to ask what happened that resulted in reduced opportunities.
“We lost out in terms of medal count and then, I began to look at the ecosystem, the support structure.
“If you want people to swim, you got to make sure that you have swimming pools. How do people access swimming pools now?
“You live in a condominium or you’re part of a recreational club but a lot of public pools have shut down because maintenance is very expensive.
“Hence, you are shutting out a big chunk of the population from becoming your talent,” she said.
The Segambut MP added that her ministry looked at innovative ways to create programmes for B40 children who lived in areas with high drowning rates.
“We fund the children who registered. We have firms like Decathlon Malaysia sponsoring swimming suits and goggles.
“We also have Allianz Insurance providing insurance for every participant, and Milo providing drinks when they come for the training. We rope in ex-athletes who are certified coaches,” said Yeoh.
According to her, the spirit of team building and community comes with shared passions and goals on the playing field.
“Now, we are expanding and testing out free-swimming lessons for senior citizens and children with disabilities in flood-prone areas,” she said.
Tax incentives for sports
Yeoh said while there have been bright spots, last year was overall a very challenging year for sports.
“When I came in, we had the SEA Games and then we had the Asian Games. I tried to understand and meet all the sports associations about their struggles, at the same time understanding the system within the ministry.
“It's always a fine balance, listening to stakeholders and so many people want issues to be resolved. There are limitations, especially in terms of resources,” she said.
Yeoh said the most rewarding reform was a tax incentive for people to spend on sports.
“When I came in, the civil servants told me that, for a long time, they have been asking for tax deductions to spend on sports. A lot of parents who take time to accompany their children to sports coaching and training also have to spend extra on equipment.
“When we looked at the budget that we spend annually for healthcare and how much we spend on prevention and a healthy lifestyle and making sure that our children post-Covid-19 develop a love for sports, it is worth investing,” she said.
Yeoh added that her team met the Finance Ministry and Inland Revenue Department (IRB) to work out the tax exemption for sports lifestyle, inclusive of sports training up to RM1,000.
“I hope that this incentive will be utilised by people to help Malaysians fast track into becoming a sporting nation,” she said, adding that her ministry also expanded the number of recognised sports to 103 from 51.
Connecting with athletes
Yeoh also said she believed in reaching out to athletes not just to congratulate them when they were winning but to also console and understand them when they did not.
“A lot of times, the point of engagement for ministers is usually when you are asked to present a medal or do the flag off, but we actually don’t spend enough time when they are defeated.
“So, I like to spend some time with them in those engagement sessions to understand what they go through because only when we understand their frustration and their disappointment, we can plan ahead to ensure that they have their victory moments,” she added.
Yeoh said Malaysian athletes often have a huge financial challenge because they would only have an allowance, not a contract of employment. Furthermore, their career span as top athletes is much shorter than that of other jobs.
“One person told me: ‘Even if I want to get married, I don’t have savings and can’t plan ahead.’
“We are talking about medallists, which means if they are struggling, just imagine the others. Will there be a breaking point when they will have to choose, ‘Do I pay bills or do I continue pursuing excellence in sports’?”
Yeoh said she engaged the National Sports Council to ask how much would it cost to translate athlete training contracts into contracts of employment.
“They managed to pull it through so that from this year, our podium athletes have all received a contract of employment. And when I spoke to (diving champion) Pandelela Rinong, she told me she’s been asking for this for so long and it’s like getting an Olympic gold.”
Jay Chou, Commonwealth Games
While Yeoh is seen as a popular and capable politician, she also has detractors since taking office as a minister.
In January 2023, soon after taking office, a concert by pop star Jay Chou at the Bukit Jalil National Stadium affected seating for the first leg of the Asean Football Federation (AFF) Cup semi-final between Malaysia and Thailand.
“That was really difficult because it was a very important match for Harimau Malaya and I spoke to the Jay Chou concert organiser.
“Because of Covid-19, the concert was deferred a few times and they incurred expenses, So, we wanted to be fair to everybody and so, we allowed the setup of the stage.
“Out of that crisis, we created a new programme called the ‘big screen programme’. It was very popular so we set up big screens across the states, giving access to fans who cannot buy tickets to follow that match.
“When you talk about sports, it’s all connected to the accessibility to watching. Participating is important for the fans,” she said.
Recently, Yeoh brought the possibility of hosting the 2026 Commonwealth Games to the cabinet but faced brickbats.
“Apart from my personal feelings and preferences, a responsible minister would say let’s bring all these numbers to the table. Let’s thoroughly discuss this with the tourism and finance ministries.
“After a lengthy discussion, we recognised that it was too short a time to be able to pull off a good game. I was a student when the 1998 Commonwealth Games happened and I remember that feeling. I want young Malaysians to have that experience.
“A lot of things, when you say yes, critics say why waste money. When you say no, they ask why you give up such an opportunity.
“So, you do, you die, you don’t do, also die,” she said with a laugh. - Mkini
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