POLITICAL appointees in sports associations will be phased out to eradicate political interference and corruption in sports, said new Youth and Sports Minister Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman.

“Corruption in sports will be one of our toughest battles. We cannot directly interfere with sports association politics. You can ask any sports reporters, they will tell you sports association politics is worse than party politics,” he said in a forum at Sunway University, today.

“One (way to reduce politicking) is to depoliticise sports and gradually phase out political appointees”

He was responding a question from the floor on how he plans to tackle corruption in sports.

To support the effort, Syed Saddiq said, he and his deputy Steven Sim will give sports technocrats space to chart the new course of sports.

“Steven Sim (and I) have discussed. We don’t want to (come in) like experts. It (will) destroy (Malaysian) sports.

“(We want) to reduce as much power as possible in the hands of the minister to ensure (there is) no political interference,” he said.

Sim, who was at the forum attended by about 400 people, said Syed Saddiq had called for open tender and open invitation for certain appointments in the Youth and Sports Ministry on his second day of work, to loud applause from the forum audience. – July 9, 2018.