KUALA LUMPUR: The last five years have been tough on Malaysian sports. In addition to the Covid-19 pandemic, political instability has also held back progress. Five different ministers have helmed the Sports Ministry since 2018.
Current Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh, who was previously Deputy Minister of Women, Family and Community Development, had a steep learning curve to overcome when she took the reins in December last year.
With no background in sports, Yeoh was careful not to jump the gun and made measured statements in her first month in office.
She consulted stakeholders, held various townhall meetings and did her best to keep her ear to the ground as she looked to encourage collective decision-making.
Yeoh has picked up steam since then, implementing no less than 22 key reforms in the first nine months in a bid to strengthen Malaysian sports from the elite, high-performance level right down to the grassroots.
Among the major objectives of the reforms are to strengthen the sports ecosystem, make sports more inclusive, increase accessibility and empower youth.
At the elite level, the formation of the Road to Gold (RTG) committee in March set tongues wagging.
RTG is an elite preparation programme to provide cream-of-the-crop athletes with the additional support to challenge for gold in Paris 2024 and LA 2028 as well as to galvanize nationwide support for athletes competing at other major international competitions.
In addition to sport science, competition exposure, equipment and coaching support, athletes under RTG also receive an allowance of RM3,000 a month.
National track cycling head coach John Beasley said the key difference is that athletes under RTG have assistance - often delayed in the past by red tape - provided to them much faster.
Beasley's riders, Azizulhasni Awang, a two-time Olympic medallist, and Shah Firdaus Sahrom are in the RTG programme.
"It (RTG) has helped them with the additional services (needed). We have a direct line of communication (with RTG committee) that can take immediate action instead of having to go through (normal) procedures," said Beasley.
"The National Sports Council (NSC) do a fantastic job though they are governed by policies and procedures, so things happen much slower than you need them to at times.
"It is not NSC's fault as they are following the guidelines they are governed by but sometimes things happen and immediate action is needed, this is where RTG comes in.
"For example, when Azizulhasni had a bad (training) accident a week before the Hangzhou Asian Games, I wanted to give him the best chance of recovering and being able to compete in China.
"I wanted to try hyperbaric chamber therapy and time was of the essence, this was late on Friday evening when the National Sports Institute had already closed.
"I just placed a phone call to the RTG management and spoke to them about the issue and what treatment we wished to try to help him recover.
"Yeoh has put together a great team (RTG committee) that are able to deal with most situations on the spot or extremely quickly because it is set up to do so.
"This is a team of exceptional people. It is a pleasure to serve under great people whose only priority is to help the athletes get to the start line in the best condition possible, feeling supported through that journey."
Beasley said high performance athletes deserve to receive preferential treatment under RTG as they are placed under immense pressure to deliver results and have worked hard over many years to achieve the level they are at.
Diver Pandelela Rinong, also a two-time Olympic medallist, said that RTG is helping her in her mission to regain full fitness after battling injuries in recent seasons.
"With RTG's openness to address my injury, the specific rehabilitation allowed me to recover from my injury, improve my strength and confidence to prepare better for the Asian Games," said Pandelela after winning two medals in Hangzhou in November.
"For now, my focus is to strengthen my body and get fitter through an injury prevention programme to be at my peak, the ultimate goal is to make it for my fifth appearance at the (Paris) Olympics next year."
At the development level, the ministry's decision to expand the number of recognised sports from 51 to 103 this year is set to encourage growth at the grassroots.
Recognised sports are listed in the Sports Development Act 1997 (Act 576) and enjoy various benefits which include eligibility to access funding under the Youth and Sports Ministry and tax exemption for coaching fees which is an initiative pushed for by the minister in Budget 2024, aimed at encouraging greater investment into sports training.
The ministry also introduced a Sports Matching Grant in July, to which the government allocated RM40 million.
The grant is to encourage sports bodies to run programmes as well as host international-standard competitions in Malaysia, which will enable local athletes to improve their rankings.
To ensure that no leakages occur, the sports bodies are only reimbursed after the programmes have been held.
The Malaysian Karate Federation used the grant to host the Asian Championships in Melaka in July, which helped their exponents prepare for the Hangzhou Asian Games. Subsequently, Malaysia won one gold and two silver in the sport in Hangzhou.
The reforms implemented by Yeoh have helped simplify, streamline and fuel sports development in Malaysia, and need to be given time to show results.