Recently I was asked to comment on the statement made by YB Hannah Yeoh, our Federal Minister of Youth and Sports who had urged all state governments to invest in the development of new talents to produce more swimmers and divers.
YB Hannah had also mentioned that, so far, only Sabah and Sarawak seem to have invested a lot in developing these two sports. I had opined that Malaysia's quest for a first Olympic gold medal will never be realised if all the state governments do not do their part in investing in the development of new sports talent.
This is because I believe that the responsibility for sports talent development should not be fully entrusted to our Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports alone. If everyone leaves it to the Ministry of Youth and Sports to produce good athletes, it will be impossible to achieve the Olympic gold medal.
I had fully supported YB Hannah's call because sporting excellence was a good way to boost the country's image at the international level. Sports talent development also needs to be done by state governments, be it in the Peninsula or Sabah and Sarawak, because this (international-level achievement) involves our country's pride.
At Sarawak's level, our Ministry of Youth, Sports and Entrepreneur Development (MYSED) is also considering establishing a centre of excellence for boxing in the Sri Aman division with the aim of producing pugilists to become future champions even at world-class level.
I have to admit that boxing is a favourite sports of our folks Sri Aman... that is why for the forthcoming Malaysia Games (Sukma) 2024, I have ensured boxing is held in Sri Aman because I know there are many boxing fans there.
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