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KUALA LUMPUR – The Youth and Sports Ministry said it has found no abuse of allocations provided by the ministry to sports associations.
Its minister, Datuk Seri Ahmad Faizal Azumu, said sports associations that have been allocated funds have to meet several stipulated conditions such as the disclosure of information report (MTKB) and whether they are active in the sports they represent.
He said since he led the ministry, any sports association that fails to give the report for three consecutive years will not be entertained for any assistance.
“I was shocked when it was said some sports associations ‘lost’ their financial aid. I think the term is not so accurate. An examination conducted by the Sports Commissioner’s Office and the National Youth and Sports Department found no graft involved in the funds provided to sports associations.
“The information from MACC (Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission) also said they do not use the term. It may be reported as such. Maybe the official said things that happened before, not what they are going through now,” he said after the 2021 Sports Body Star Rating Awards ceremony here today.
On Sunday, MACC community education division director Datuk Razim Mohd Noor was reported as saying it found corruption in the sports industry in terms of fund management and so on.
Meanwhile, Faizal said 99 sports bodies are eligible to receive star ratings, while 10,230 sports bodies had yet to meet the basic MTKB requirement as of December 31, 2020.
From the total, only five associations at the national level, namely the Football Association of Malaysia, Badminton Association of Malaysia, Malaysian Hockey Confederation, Wushu Federation of Malaysia, and the Squash Racket Association of Malaysia are eligible to receive a five-star rating.
“From the total of 99, 5% were national-level sports bodies, 10% at the state level, 66% at the district level, and 19% of sport bodies at the club level.
“I am optimistic that such an evaluation programme can be the benchmark in monitoring the management of sports bodies in Malaysia. Indirectly, it can motivate sports bodies to improve their governance to be more efficient,” he said. – Bernama, September 27, 2022
