PUTRAJAYA: THE country’s talent identification (TID) programme will be restructured and improved to address the shortage of young talents.
The focus will also be on honing and grooming their skills as early as possible.
The Cabinet Committee on Sports Development said the tweaking of the programme would be done through initiatives
under the National Blue Ocean Strategy.
The committee, which was chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, yesterday said it was crucial to start the training of newly discovered talents at an early stage.
The shortage of talented young athletes and the need to begin grooming fresh talents as early as possible, should be the overall emphasis of the effort to identify talents.
“This is to be done through a new strategic partnership with the Education Ministry and other government agencies, through a more systematic process,” it said.
The committee also recognised that the TID programme was key in pushing the talent scouting process to become more robust in developing the nation’s sports industry and raise the interest in sports from the grassroots level.
It added the soon-to-be-launched FitMalaysia programme, would also help to expand the talent pool that would be screened by the TID programme.
The FitMalaysia concept, aimed to turn the country into a sporting nation, was also endorsed by the committee yesterday.
FitMalaysia focuses on four principal fitness activities- running, cycling as well as fitness programmes like aerobics, zumba and cross training, and martial arts.
“This effort will involve all parties via strategic cooperation of all government agencies, the private sector, statutory bodies, associations, non-governmental organisations, and all levels of society through the FitMalaysia branding effort.
FitMalaysia campaign is scheduled to be launched this Sunday.
The state-level campaign will start with Malacca at Dataran Pahlawan (Sept 14); Padang Awam Tanjung Lipat, Sabah (Sept 21) and followed by Selangor, Negri Sembilan and Sarawak (the dates will be announced later).
FitMalaysia will also fully utilise the social media platforms. Interested members of the public can get more information via Facebook, Twitter and Instagram or access its official website at www.fit.my