After much walkabouts and talkabout, Shabery spells it out...
The setting need not be a formal and protocol-concious atmosphere for Ahmad Shabery Cheek to announce a new navigation for Sports in his second week as the new Youth and Sports Minister.
What's important that his message for Sports to be taken seriously was clear and precise and if the audience had not paid any attention to his speech at a special gathering of the KBS Family on Tuesday it was to their peril.
Shabery pointed out that it will be his tour of duty to strife for Malaysians to adopt a sporting culture, with sports as the primary concern. Sports trancends all tangible and intangible barriers and it is only apt for the ministry to expect a little tweak here and there as per the presence of the new captain to drive home the message.
"Sports is life, sports is everything and sports rises above everything. For example two hard fought boxers could be merciless and mean in the ring but once the fight is over the fighters will throw around a hug in the true sporting spirit," he told KBS (Kementerian Belia dan Sukan) staffs who filled to the brim the multipurpose hall in the adjoining building which houses the Department of Civil Aviation.
Later in the evening, the minister reiterated his message to a specific audience at the National Sports Council, saying that while Malaysians should adopt a sporting culture, sportsmen and sportswomen must also be in for the medal.
He was meeting with national sportsmen and sportswomen who were on training sessions at the sports center in Bukit Jalil during his tour to the council.
"There is no two way about it," he said, singling out the quest for medal vis-a-vis sporting excellence is another process of strengthening patriotism and nationalism. It was also the reflection of our resilient.
That Malaysians greatness in sports must be translated in the collection of medal is as good as the non-compromising stand of the ministry. Among those in the crowd listening to his short speech were Lee Chong Wei, the almost All-England champion and Beijing Olympics gold medallist, bowling champion Shalin Zulkifli, former All-England doubles champion Jailani Sidek and NSC boss Zolkples Embong.
The golfer and bowler Shabery completed his policy outline with the third point of making sports an industry, meaning that sports is to be taken seriously from now on.
"Sports should no longer be seen as the alternative for those who do not excell in academic but sports to be taken seriously as a career. In short, sports is not for the rejects," Shabery said to the shouts of Malaysia Boleh by his audience.
Then the tree-point policy has been laid out clearly and precisely and for a practical reason that sports is now a serious business in as far as the ministry is concerned.
We now await the minister's navigation on youth, the other focus of the Ministry of Youth and Sports.
