19 Jan 2012 Olympics Action Plan launch next month

SPORTS Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob will launch the London 2012 Olympics Action Plan next month with the hope that the programme, prepared by the National Sports Council (NSC), will see Malaysia win its first gold medal. “We are focusing only on archery, badminton and cycling for the London Olympics and preparations did not start just today but five years ago. The plan and programme prepared by the NSC comprises the support system and also financial support.” said Ismail Sabri at the Sports Ministry in Putrajaya. While the NSC failed to meet its target of one gold medal in last year’s Beijing Olympics, it cannot afford to fail in London as, by 2012, millions would have been spent on preparing the athletes.

“The athletes should progress from time to time and will also go through phases in the development programme. We do not want to focus on too many sports as we know our strength and weaknesses. So I think it’s best we stick to our strength and try to achieve positive results,” added Ismail Sabri after launching the Palestine Humanitarian Fund. “We spend a lot of money in preparing the athletes and, of course, the public will hope for the best results and possibly a gold medal.”

The 2012 London Olympics Programme was endorsed by the Cabinet Committee for Sports which met in December. Chaired by the deputy prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, the Cabinet Committee for Sports went further into the development programme whereby a total of 346 elite athletes and a 5,344-member back-up squad have been identified by the NSC, of which the cream will be prepared for the 2009 and 2011 Sea Games, the 2010 Asian Games and Commonwealth Games, and the 2012 London Olympics. “If we look at what was endorsed by the committee we can see a long development programme is in place. This is good as the athletes who are involved in the 2012 programme have been a part of this plan for the last five years.” he added.

Meanwhile, Ismail Sabri also confirmed that the rating system which was formulated by the Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) headed by Datuk Dr M. Jegathesan, will be implemented as soon as the ministry officials find it viable. The rating system, which will be used as a guide to decide on the financial grant the government will give to national sports associations, was supposed to be implemented last year.