Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Ministry To Turn NSC Complex Into Sports City


KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 24 (Bernama) -- The Ministry of Youth and Sports hope to go ahead with its plan to turn the National Sports Complex in Bukit Jalil into a Sports City despite the economic crisis.

Its Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said the proposal was still in the planning stage.

"We hope the Sports City will become a hub for all sports and not just a few selected sports," he told reporters after announcing the Malaysia International Sports and Trade 2009 (MISET'09) here today.

Ismail Sabri said the Ministry had earlier set up a committee to set up a Sports Museum as part of the initiative.

"The committee chairman Datuk Wira Mazlan Ahmad and the members are currently gathering articles or exhibits from ex-national athletes or their family members like legendary footballer, the late Mohktar Dahari to be displayed in the museum," he said.

Ismail Sabri added that a number of sports venues like the Panasonic Sports Complex (Matsushita Stadium in Shah Alam), Jalan Duta Hockey Stadium and the Jalan Duta National Tennis Centre would also come under the purview of the Ministry from March 1.

"In future, the Ministry will solely manage and administer all sports complexes while the National Sports Council's role will be to train athletes while the National Sports Institute takes charge of sports science," he said.

The idea of setting up a Sports City was mooted during the National Sports Convention held in November last year but the Ministry has yet to determine the budget for the purpose, he said.

Meanwhile, the two-day inaugural MISET to be held on June 26-27 and organised by the GK Group and the Malaysian Athletes Welfare Foundation, would see more than 30 countries exhibit and promote high quality and state-of-the-art sports equipment.

"Through the exhibition, Malaysia will become a hub for sports facilities and research, especially with the involvement of universities," he said.

-- BERNAMA

No comments:

Post a Comment