Lamat Nyalau
KUCHING: Sports bodies in Sarawak have until May 31 this year to register themselves with Sarawak Sports Commisioner’s Office (SCO) in which failure to do so may render them to be deregistered.
Sarawak Sports Commissioner Lamat Nyalau yesterday said that as at January 2011, there were 267 sports associations and clubs registered with the Register of Societies (ROS).
Lamat said all sports bodies must abide to the ruling in compliance with Section 16 of the Sports Development Act 1997 that was already enforced in the Peninsula since 1998 and was enforced in Sarawak in 2011.
“Out of the number, 127 have yet to register with us… I believe some of them are no longer active,” Lamat told the Borneo Post at his office at Aquatics Centre, Youth and Sports Complex along Jalan Tun Ahmad Zaidi Adruce.
Lamat said ROS had also sent out reminder letters to the sports bodies concerned to direct them to register with the Sports Commissioner’s Office within 60 days upon receipt of the letters.
“By right, those who haven’t registered with us should have been automatically de-registered but we are still giving them time to do so. We understand the sports bodies may be facing problems like being unable to hold their Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) and Annual General Meeting (AGM) or some may not have received the letters from ROS,” said Lamat.
“This is the final reminder and I hope all the sports bodies will comply with the ruling. If the existing bodies don’t register with us after the deadline, new bodies can come in and register themselves in the name of the existing sports body.
“We do give priority to existing sports bodies to register but if they cannot settle whatsoever problems they have and come to us, then they have only themselves to blame if others register with us first,” stressed Lamat.
He said as at March 21, 382 sports bodies have registered with the SCO in Sarawak. Out of the number, 242 are new bodies at divisional and state level.
“Fifty-eight state bodies have registered with us and some of them are new. Since 2011, 35 sports bodies have been de-registered and that includes two state bodies,” said Lamat.
In the country, Selangor has the biggest number of sports bodies registered under the SCO, with 947, followed by Kuala Lumpur (577), Johor (540), Perak (450) and Sabah (407).
Lamat also encouraged propagators of new sports such as rowing, rock climbing, beach soccer, jetski, optimist sailing, carrom, woodball, and even modified sports like 3-on-3 basketball.
After registering with SCO, Lamat said the sports bodies must have proper management and administration, hold their EGM, AGM and to record minutes of meeting, reports of sports activities and to submit them to SCO every year.
“All sports bodies must conduct their AGM by March 31 and if there is any postponement, they must inform us,” added Lamat.
The Sarawak SCO can be reached at 082-237542/082-237543 during office hours.