KUALA LUMPUR: The transparent approach of Khairy Jamaluddin in engaging local sports personalities shows how serious the Youth and Sports Minister is in looking into local sports development, said National Sports Council (NSC) director-general Datuk Seri Zolkples Embong.
He said the meetings Khairy held with sports bodies or actions in intervening in the affairs of local sports associations should not be made into an issue.
This, he said was because a minister had the authority to do so as provided under the Sports Development Act to ensure national sports development was on the right track.
“He is concerned about problems faced by the associations and as the minister, he has the power over all national sports development programmes and activities.
“Should there be problems, they should be handled well so that plans could be implemented to avoid creating more problems,” he told reporters after attending a Maulidur Rasul celebration procession around the National Sports Complex in Bukit Jalil here yesterday.
Zolkples was commenting on a closed-door meeting Khairy had with national professional cyclists recently to gather views and suggestions on improving the quality of the national highway cycling programme.
Meanwhile, NSC has denied claims that national swimming coach Paul Birmingham would be following in the foot steps of national hockey chief coach Paul Revington, who resigned from his post last week.
Zolkples said the matter did not arise because Birmingham had informed the NSC’s Athletes Preparation Division director Ariffin Mohd Ghani that he was facing health problems.
“His (Birmingham’s) absence from training the national squad since last month was because he contracted dengue fever …now he has almost recovered. Furthermore, he and the national swimming contingent recently returned from the SEA Games in Myanmar.
“I hope he does not face any serious problems that can affect his duties,” he told reporters.
On another note, Zolkples said at the meeting between the NSC and the Amateur Swimming Association of Malaysia last week, NSC agreed to increase coaches for aquatic sports in preparing for the 2015 and 2017 SEA Games.
Revington cited health reasons for stepping down as hockey chief coach. — Bernama