KUALA LUMPUR – National Sports Associations (NSAs) are anxious to know if they will get a slice of the cake from the RM230 million allocation for sports, which was announced by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim during the 2025 Budget tabling last week.
Following that, the Squash Racquets Association of Malaysia (SRAM) is hoping to receive about a 20-30% increase in allocation from the National Sports Council (NSC) in preparation for major upcoming competitions, including the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
It is understood that SRAM has been receiving an annual allocation of RM4 to RM5 million from the NSC.
However, SRAM president Gerard Monteiro said that the governing body has been operating on a tight budget for years, based on the allocations received from both the NSC and the Youth and Sports Ministry.
“Additional funds are essential for us to prepare our athletes for major tournaments, including both the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games and the LA 2028 Olympics.
“We have been doing our best with the resources we have, but we could certainly achieve more if we receive additional support from the government agencies,” Gerard said during a press conference today.
On Friday, the prime minister announced an allocation of RM230 million for sports development, RM15 million for football development, RM20 million for eSports, and RM1 million for cricket. – October 22, 2024