KUALA LUMPUR: Esports Malaysia (ESM), the governing body for electronic sports in Malaysia, will be reformed to better address the concerns of esports athletes.
Youth and Sports Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman said the restructuring of ESM will take place in March next year when the association holds its election.
The current ESM president is Datuk Latt Shariman Abdullah, who was once a special function officer to then Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.
"In Malaysia, as we know, ESM is still unstable. We have to reform ESM first as once the sports association is stable, then it becomes easier for issues to be directed to the ministry.
"I really hope that the industry players in front of me can partake in the change-making process in the association's elections which will take place next year," he said during a press conference at the sidelines of the Kuala Lumpur Major Dota 2 tournament here yesterday.
He also said like other sports associations, ESM should look after the welfare of the players and send them to the specific tournaments to give them exposure.
He expressed confidence that in five years' time, Malaysia would be a "shining example" in the field of esports, as long as the community was united.
ESM was founded in 2015 to regulate the esports industry and is registered under the Malaysian Sports Commission.
The association has been accused of failing to perform its duties as the esports governing body.
Several quarters have also censured the involvement of politicians in ESM, saying the body should be helmed by the industry players themselves.
The vice-chief of ESM is former Kota Tinggi MP Noor Ehsanuddin Mohd Harun Narrashid, who is also an Umno member.
ESM secretary-general Rinie Ramli has defended political involvement in esports, saying Latt Shariman has been useful to ESM as he "opens doors to potential supporters in the form of politicians and the private sector".
"Previously, any door for Malaysian e-sports was closed. Nobody cared. The door is now open, after Latt Shariman's involvement. We get to know ministers themselves.
"Immediately, those from the private sector joined in... There is no politicising (of esports),” he was quoted as saying by Malaysiakini in an interview last year.
ESM also faced withering criticism over its perceived failure to address the controversies surrounding the AGES tournament in 2016, an event ESM was heavily involved in.
The winners of the tournament have yet to receive their prize money and while the protracted issue has been brought to court, Syed Saddiq in August said his ministry would look into the matter.
The announcement of ESM's revamp comes after the federal government allocated a total of RM10 million for the development of esports in the 2019 Budget, which was tabled by Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng on Nov 2.
The allocation will be channelled to the Malaysia Digital Economy Cooperation, a government agency under the Communications and Multimedia Ministry.
Latt Shariman had questioned the move, saying the budget should be handed to an organisation under the Sports Ministry instead.
"Usually, budgets for sports development would go under the National Sports Council or other Sports Ministry’s agencies," he told the NSTP when contacted recently.
Min-Liang Tan, the CEO of Razer, a global gaming hardware company, on Nov 3 announced that he, too, would be investing RM10 million in esports in Malaysia.
Syed Saddiq yesterday said "some of the biggest industry players" would also be pitching in, but he declined to reveal details until the end of the year when plans are more concrete.
Syed Saddiq made it clear that his ministry did not want to overly regulate the industry as it could slow down the development of esports.
He pinned the responsibility of player development squarely on ESM.
The Kuala Lumpur Major, which ends tomorrow, is being held at the Axiata Arena in Bukit Jalil and offers a total a prize pool of US$1 million (RM4.2 million).
It is one five major events schedu
led for the season and serves as a qualifier for the main event – The International 9 – in Shanghai next year.
The International, which offers up to US$25 million in prize money, will be held outside North America for the first time since the inaugural event in Cologne, Germany in 2011.