IN her end-of-year message on her official Facebook page, Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh said when she visited Malaysian athletes, sportsmen and women, she saw a fire in them.
“In my meetings with our athletes, I see a fire in them, a determination, regardless of the sport. Malaysia has a spark of flame in her that needs to be stoked.
“Our nation yearns for a golden age, again. To accomplish this, we must believe that we as a nation can do it, that Malaysia can rise to the world stage and hold its own. Malaysia Boleh,” she wrote.
This message may become a war cry for all our athletes while Malaysia enters the new year 2023.
She also said winning gold medals at the 2024 Olympics is a must for Malaysia. This appears to be her immediate mission as the country looks forward to the birth of new national heroes in the new era.
“As we enter 2023, it has become clear to me that a gold in the Olympics in 2024 is a must for Malaysia. “Our first gold medal and our attempt to win will give birth to new national heroes, inspire a generation of champions, lift all sports at all levels, we will have bigger dreams in every area of life and industry, and we will believe in ourselves again,” she wrote.
She reminds the athletes that the “Road to Gold” is about more than just bringing home a medal from Paris 2024.
She noted it is about creating a template for how Malaysia can invest in our athletes, how the country can make every competition count, and how the nation can foster a sustainable sports ecosystem.
“It is how we gather data for grassroots scouting, how we can help our athletes build fan bases, and how to improve our measurements of sport development and success.”
For her, 2022 ends with a great responsibility.
“It has been close to a month since I was appointed as Youth and Sports Minister. From my recent engagements with the various stakeholders, it is evident that sports is not a one-man show,” she added.
According to Hannah, when an athlete or a team wins on the biggest stage, while the glory of the moment is showered upon the winner, the achievement signifies a lot of right things taking place in the country that enabled that success.
“Athletes, coaches, managers, sports associations, policies and legislation, corporates, families, schools, the community, and the media working in unison and producing a world class athlete and/or team. The nation is working.” — Dec 31, 2022
