A great way to nurture sports

PRIME Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak has declared Oct 14 every year as National Sports Day (NSD) in order to promote a healthy lifestyle among students and the adult population, supported by the Youth and Sports Ministry and volunteer organisations across the state and country.
This creation of a sports culture among our school children must be encouraged in creating physical and mental health fitness awareness among fellow youths and Malaysians as a whole. Sport is an enabler in boosting better understanding, peace and harmony among Malaysians.
The benefits for children and adolescents are numerous and span multiple domains, including physical, physiological, and social development.
The bigger goal of the NSD is to be more targeted and results-oriented. It goes down to the grassroots of sports development, focused on reaching out to youths more effectively, rather than letting them be bored with their sedentary lifestyle or getting them involved in unproductive or destructive behaviours.
The government cannot rely on a one-day approach to solve matters but must promote sports as a living culture in the private and public sector, connecting with sports clubs in schools, academies, and bringing sporting opportunities to people's doorsteps.
The partnership will build a legacy of competitive sports in our schools, improve links between schools and community sports clubs and sports governing bodies, which will unearth young potential talents such as sprint sensation Khairul Hafiz Jantan, footballer N. Thanabalan and ice figure skater Julian Yee who qualified for the 2018 Winter Olympics. The government must be serious in having a balanced approach to sports and education, both complementing each other even at university level in order to develop towering Malaysian leaders at higher institutions of learning in our country.
They should play a role throughout the year building on fitness programmes that will be organised in districts as these will have a better chance of transforming Malaysia into a sporting nation. A sporting culture will reduce the health budget.
C. Sathasivam Sitheravellu
Seremban