Experts say that allowing students from private, religious, and international schools to participate in district and national-level sports competitions can promote unity in Malaysian society. They emphasize that government schools’ sport programs need adequate funding to make this possible.
Datin Noor Azimah Abdul Rahim, the chairman of the Parent Action Group for Education (PAGE), asserts that it is essential to provide such opportunities as sports have become polarized. She explains that football is seen as Malay, basketball as Chinese, and hockey as Indian in many schools. However, equitable facilities and coaching must be provided to enable students to compete on equal terms. Azimah believes that even if unity is not achieved, at least students can converse in English or Bahasa Malaysia with each other.
Recently, Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh announced that the District School Sports Council (MSSD) and Malaysian Sports School Council (MSSM) competitions, which are currently limited to government schools, will be opened up to private, international, and religious schools. Azimah acknowledges that fostering interaction between students during such competitions will take time and effort.
Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye, a trustee of the Malaysian Unity Foundation, supports this decision as it allows future young leaders to be exposed to individuals from diverse backgrounds in Malaysia, a multicultural country. He hopes that all types of schools, including vernacular schools, will participate in these sports events.
Mak Chee Kin, chairman of the Malacca Action Group For Parents in Education (Magpie), sees this as a timely decision given that sports have been neglected in schools in favor of academic excellence. He adds that inadequate funds are allocated for school and district-level sport events, which are often organized just for the sake of having them. Mak urges for more funds to be channeled into schools for sports.
Fouzi Singon, secretary-general of the National Union of the Teaching Profession (NUTP), cautions that the government needs to carefully consider funding and academic calendar differences across schools. Organizing sports events requires appropriate staffing, management, and sports infrastructure. He mentions that some schools are facing financial issues in managing sports tournaments due to limited allocations, to the point where they have to cover the expenses with participation fees.
Minister Hannah Yeoh states that the integration of students from different education segments aims to provide them with a broader pool of peers to compare themselves to. She believes that this move will also expand the talent development pool for sports. The integration of students from different schools has already begun, as seen in the Kuala Lumpur Federal Territories’ MSSD swimming competition this year. Yeoh stresses the importance of extensive grassroots development to achieve good results at a high-performance level.
Credit: The Star : News Feed
