PETALING JAYA: Former Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin has urged current minister Hannah Yeoh to take a more assertive approach in her role, advising her to confront influential sports leaders head-on instead of deflecting responsibility.
In response to Malaysia’s performance at the Paris Olympics, he emphasised the need for Yeoh to actively engage with the key figures leading sports associations to ensure the nation’s success in sports.
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He stressed that the minister should not shy away from taking responsibility on the Keluar Sekejap podcast.
“If a minister practices taichi saying, ‘I didn’t appoint them; someone else made the choice’ -referring to the Olympic Association or the Malaysian Olympic Council being elected by all sports associations. Then, saying ‘I can’t do anything’ is not going to cut it.
“You are the minister.”
He emphasised that without strong leadership, the minister risks being undermined by powerful figures within the sports associations.
“I used to be a minister, and I faced a president of the Malaysian Olympic Council who had been there for decades,” he said.
“Before Norza, it was Tengku Tan Sri Imran. And he wasn’t only the President of the Malaysian Olympic Council; he was a member of the IOC, the International Olympic Committee.”
“He was a big beast, a prominent figure in the sports world.
“If the sports minister becomes insignificant in their presence and doesn’t dare to face the big names in the sports associations, then people will walk all over you,” he stated.
“Then, you have an excuse, which is, ‘Well, you know, I can’t do what I want to do’.”
“And I read a statement from the minister today saying, ‘Oh, I can only do what I can control’.
“That’s not good because sports in Malaysia has many stakeholders,” he explained.
“There’s the Malaysian Olympic Council, the Malaysian Paralympic Council, which are indeed independent but depend on KBS because most sports investment allocations in Malaysia are government-funded.
“That’s your leverage.
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“And these sports associations under the Olympic Council Malaysia, like football, badminton, basketball, and others, are led by influential ‘taikos’, including former or failed politicians and businesspeople, who are not easy to control,“ he said.
“So, if you’re not willing to get your hands dirty and go up against them, and say, ‘You think you’re a big beast? Well, remember I’m big too, as the Youth and Sports Minister’, then you’re not going to succeed,” he added.
“So, I hope that if she continues as the Youth and Sports Minister, she has to be brave and not just say, ‘Oh, this is not my field’.”
Yeoh had recently apologised for Malaysia’s failure to secure a gold medal at the Paris Olympics, defending the multi-million ringgit Road To Gold (RTG) program, which aims to prepare athletes for both the 2024 Paris and 2028 Los Angeles Games.
Additionally, she faced criticism over a social media post featuring her with Thailand’s world champion Kunlavut Vitidsarn, which some deemed “insensitive” and “unpatriotic” after Kunlavut defeated Malaysia’s Lee Zii Jia in the men’s singles semi-final.
In response to the criticism, she reaffirmed her commitment to empowering Malaysia’s sports community, including placing former athletes in key roles within the country’s sports bodies before her term concludes.
However, she noted that she had no authority to remove individuals from sports associations, as these positions are filled through democratic elections.
