KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 7 — National Sports Council director-general Datuk Ahmad Shapawi Ismail is doubtful of Malaysia’s ability to establish a sports industry soon.
In fact, Ahmad Shapawi said sports in Malaysia are still being ‘used’ by other industries and do not act as a leading role in things that they are associated with.
“To turn sports into an industry, the ecosystem needs to be completed, especially in terms of trust, communications, sharing knowledge, regulations and independence, if that is in place, only then can we talk about a sports industry.
“I notice that the sports industry is still leaning or depending on other industries. For example, the textile industry uses football to sell their product, so we are actually users not leading the role,” he said at the sports industry conference here, yesterday.
The event was held on the sidelines of the Kuala Lumpur Sports Industry Expo (EISKL) 2022 in Bukit Jalil.
Ahmad Shapawi earlier called on all parties, including the fans, to get involved in a bid to turn sports not only into an industry, but one that is able to contribute towards the development of the country and help stimulate the economy.
Other panellists included Malaysia Hockey Confederation deputy president Prof Datuk Dr S. Shamala; Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) Stadium and Facilities Manager Kevin Ramalingam and Purple League (M) Sdn Bhd founder Datuk Jack Koh.
Kevin, on the other hand, does not feel that a sports industry existed in Malaysia.
The former Malaysia Football League chief executive officer said one of the perennial problems here is, there is no competition in sports broadcasting as it is monopolised by one broadcaster.
“In Indonesia, even for a game friendly, multiple television stations will come forward and make an offer to broadcast but here not only friendly but even competition is difficult to see such response,” he said.
Meanwhile, Koh, whose company runs Malaysia’s premier professional badminton league, opined that if the country is unable to get the sports industry going, perhaps they can work with other countries in the Southeast Asian region to do so.
He also said trust among all parties is what drives a successful sports industry.
— Bernama
