Malaysian Government To Spend More Than $61M On Sports Development Next Year

The Malaysian government will pour RM 187.2M ($61.4M) into sports development for next year as it tries to turn the country into "a sporting powerhouse," according to Ashreena Pillai of THE STAR. Youth and Sports Minister Seri Ahmad Shabery Cheek said, "The challenge for us here is simply that we do not just spend money, but to make sure that the money will generate sporting success." Cheek added, "We are satisfied with the performance of our athletes at the recent Olympics and Paralympic Games in London. Although we didn’t win gold this time, it was by far our best performance to date." Of the total sum, RM 8.5M ($2.8M) "will be allocated for next year’s 16th edition of Sukan Malaysia (Sukma) in Kuala Lumpur." The games will be held from June 29 - July 7 (THE STAR, 10/30).