A Malaysia Sports School (SSM) should be implemented in Sarawak to provide better facilities for students here to excel in sports, especially considering that the state has produced many world-class athletes.
Assistant Minister for Education, Science and Technological Research Dr Annuar Rapaee said SSMs were fully equipped with facilities compared to State Sports Schools (SSNs).
“Therefore, we really need an SSM to be built in Sarawak. In Malaysia, we have five of these schools — one each in Sabah, Terengganu, Pahang, Kuala Lumpur, and Johor. Another one is under construction in Perlis,” he said in response to a question from See Chee How (PSB-Batu Lintang) during the DUN sitting on Tuesday (Nov 10).
Annuar, who is also Nangka assemblyman, said thus far, there were no plans to convert SMK Tabuan Jaya from its status of Sarawak SSN into an SSM.
“However, our state government under the Ministry of Youth and Sports has proposed to the Ministry of Education (MoE) to elevate SMK Demak into a full-fledged SSM because of the facilities nearby,” he said, adding that there had been no response on the matter yet.
He explained that if an SSN were to be converted into an SSM or if a new national sports school were to be established, approval from MoE would be required.
On the key benefit of SSMs over SSNs, he said there were many more opportunities for students of SSMs to compete at the national or international level, allowing them to be well-exposed in a highly competitive environment.
“Therefore, Sarawak will not benefit if it does not have an SSM,” he stressed.
Yet another aspect was the significant difference in food allowance provided for students in SSMs compared to SSNs.
“In SSN, the cost per head is RM15.50 per day whereas in SSM in Sabah, they provide RM40 per day while in Bukit Jalil they provide RM30,” said Annuar.
He said another aspect was facilities – whereby SSMs were better equipped with sports science laboratories, proper gymnasiums, and a flexible training schedule.
“They also have more coaches available in SSMs. In addition, SSNs do not have physiotherapists and nutritionists available,” he said.
He said until an SSM was established in Sarawak, the state government would assist students of SMK Tabuan Jaya to achieve sporting excellence via collaboration between the Ministry of Youth and Sports, Sarawak State Sports Council, Sarawak Sports Corporation, and the school in terms of development of coaches and training as well as improvement of facilities.
“In the future, if an SSM is implemented in Sarawak, I am sure the athletes and students in Sarawak will be able to excel more in sports,” he said.
