Stable funding needed to turn high athlete Podium programme a success, says Syed Saddiq

SHAH ALAM - The high athlete Podium programme under Sports ministry requires stable funding to transform it into a resounding success, says former Youth and Sports Minister Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman.

This comes after Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh recently said political instability in the country has resulted in 220 national athletes being unable to continue training, as there were no provisions provided under the Podium Programme 2022.

Syed Saddiq said the government needs to ensure consistent annual funding for athletes in the country.

"Podium programme which was a great programme promised a five year budget but every year the budget was reduced.

"That's why in 2022, we had to find external funding source from different department, agencies, associations," he said during Sinar Daily's Sports Matters podcast episode entitled 'Error In The System' today.

"That was really bad because there is no consistent sports funding, RM5 million might be small amount but it can benefit 50 high performing athelets," he added.

The Podium programme is a preparation programme with the objective of achieving sporting excellence for the country at major International Sports Championships.

However, it did not gain a significant impact on the sports industry due to inconsistent allocations.

During thelast four years, Yeoh said there were three prime ministers and youth and sports ministers that saw changes in the board members, budgets and the direction.