Ellron: Sabah, Sarawak should be given sufficient allocations

KOTA KINABALU (Nov 24): Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Ellron Angin fully supports the call made by Keningau Member of Parliament Datuk Seri Panglima Dr Jeffrey G. Kitingan for Sabah and Sarawak to be given sufficient allocations by the federal government to enable both states to continue to progress in youth and sports development.

RM112.29 million is allocated for youth and sports development in the 2024 Budget at the committee level for the Ministry of Youth and Sports.

The request was made by Jeffrey who is Sabah Deputy Chief Minister 1 cum State Minister of Fisheries, Agriculture and Food Industry, when commenting on the budget of the Ministry of Youth and Sports in a debate session in Parliament last Tuesday.

“As a minister in the Sabah Ministry of Youth and Sports, I fully support Jeffrey’s request that the Federal Government through the Ministry of Youth and Sports can fulfill the request.

“As partners in Malaysia, Sabah and Sarawak should receive a fair and equitable distribution of allocations to enable the people of both states to enjoy sports facilities and programs involving the development of athletes’ performance and youth human capital.

“In distributing the allocation, the Federal Government also needs to take into account the size of the state and the number of people in both states,” he said in a statement on Friday.

Ellron said both Sabah and Sarawak are among the states that contribute athletes to represent the country at international level and have helped to raise Malaysia’s name through winning medals.

However, due to the lack of sufficient funds, the athletes did not have the opportunity to highlight their potential at the national level, he said.

“For example, recently Sabah’s under-15 and 18-year-old Sabah Sports Council (MSSS) football teams nearly could not participate in the Malaysian Sports Council (MSSM) football competition in Johor as they could not afford plane tickets and accommodation,” he said, adding that the Sabah state government eventually supported the team by paying the cost of the team’s expenses.

“Even though the issue has been resolved, we don’t want such an event to happen again in the future,” he said.

“Therefore, the State Government through the Sabah Youth and Sports Ministry hopes that the federal government will give focus and attention to this request so as not to hinder the development of sports talent of the young people of Sabah and Sarawak,” said Ellron.