THE main objective of the Malaysian contingent to participate at the 2023 Cambodia SEA Games is to provide exposure to young and back-up athletes, Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh said.

She said it is to ensure that the country does not lack young talent to perform at a higher level from now on.

“The focus of the SEA Games is on development and friendship. Hence, we give exposure to young as well and back-up athletes so that in the Asian Games and the Olympics there will be a line-up of experienced young and back-up athletes,” she said at a press conference on contribution and allocation under her ministry today.

She is also confident that the target of 40 gold, 37 silver and 64 bronze medals that she announced on Sunday, is realistic and achievable.

With the athletes and officials already leaving in phases to Phnom Penh, she said the focus for these few days is to identify and resolve logistics issues that may occur.

Malaysia is represented by 676 athletes, with 440 athletes (65%) of them making their debut at the biennial games, will compete in 34 of the 36 types of sports to be contested in Cambodia.

The 2023 SEA Games are scheduled to take begin on May 5 but some competitions have already started.

Meanwhile, Yeoh said the Youth and Sports Ministry has approved 32 applications involving funds amounting to RM880,050 allocated for programmes related to sports and the youth since the beginning of the year.

She has also introduced a special section on the ministry’s portal, www.kbs.gov.my, to facilitate fund applications to the ministry, which also displays a list of recipients.

“The list of approved fund recipients will be updated from time to time for reference and review by the public, especially among youth and sports stakeholders. If any party which receives an allocation does not carry out the activity as stated, they can be reported to the MACC.

“Governance practices that are transparent, orderly and organised are the commitments and priorities of the ministry, especially involving the provision of funds, including announcements about fund recipients,” she said.

A check on the website found that the Footgolf Association Malaysia and the Cheerleading Association and Register of Malaysia (CHARM) were the highest recipients of funds with each receiving RM100,000. – Bernama, May 2, 2023.