KUALA LUMPUR — The government must play a more active role in engaging with government-linked companies (GLCs) to enhance high-performance sports in Malaysia, says National Sports Institute (NSI) board member Datuk V. Subramaniam.
Subramaniam, who is also the acting president of the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM), believes that partnerships between GLCs and national sports associations (NSAs) could provide the resources needed to strengthen Malaysia’s competitive edge in international sports.
“There are so many GLCs in the country. Perhaps the government can encourage them to fulfil their corporate social responsibility (CSR) by working with high-performance sports associations,” he said.
“A good example is the long-standing collaboration between Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) and the Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC).
“This approach could be extended to the state level, where state GLCs can play a key role in supporting state sports associations.
“Once a partnership is forged, matters of accountability and return on investment (ROI) can be discussed between the company and the NSA,” he added.
Subramaniam stressed that NSI’s primary focus is on providing sports science support for national athletes but acknowledged that the institution is currently unable to meet the demands outlined by Malaysian cycling technical director John Beasley.
Beasley recently highlighted Malaysia’s lack of dedicated full-time support service staff for elite athletes, arguing that this shortfall hinders their ability to compete at the highest level.
“What John said is absolutely true. At both national and international levels, every high-performance sport needs its own dedicated support team,” Subramaniam admitted.
“Unfortunately, we at NSI are short of staff, and the biggest hindrance is cost. Financially, we cannot afford or support every high-performance sport with full-time support staff at the moment.
“This is why government intervention is crucial to ensure Malaysian athletes receive the backing they need to succeed on the world stage,” he said. — February 17, 2025