Boredworkers.com

For the love of all things good, let the issue die! What is it with the Youth and Sports Ministry and their obsession with implementing the sports centre in London? It’s like a sore that they can’t leave well alone. Scratching only makes it worse but they probably get some kind of perverted kick out of it. Even after London authorities have said no to the centre, to inaudible sighs of relief throughout Malaysia, the ministry still insists pursuing it. Or perhaps it is not the agenda of the ministry per se but mad hatters in the form of Datuk Azalina Othman Said and our playboy deputy PM Najib.

“I don’t see why this project has become an issue because the cost, which was raised by opposition leader Lim Kit Siang, has yet to be finalised.”
- Datuk Azalina Othman Said, Minister of Youth and Sports -

The point is not only about the cost, it is about the vision. The problem is not a lack of facility, it is a lack of talent. The lack of which is not for the want of funding, but the proper channelling of such. The present pool of tallent does not warrant a facility overseas. Time and money is better off put into scouting for new blood.

The older generation of athletes did well in their time not because they had the ‘necessary’ facilities but because they had heart and a passion for the sport. The same goes for the present batch that are doing well in the sports of their choice. However, that is only a handful while the rest are merely lackeys who seem to be tagging along for the ride.

And since the powers that be in England dictate that no additional structures may be built on the protected land, Azalina is now lobbying to renovate the interior of the existing building to accomodate her dreams. That’s one of the worst contingency plans I’ve come across. It is even worse than the original plan in that now instead of a full sports facility, we have a half baked one. No doubt that cost and expenditures are going to be the same, but do we really care?

Does the ministry really expect the athletes to improve because they have a facility overseas? Do they expect handouts from the European nations in terms of training and technology? Do they really think that having a centre some 24km away from the site of the 2012 Olympics is going to increase the chance of anyone bringing home a gold medal. 2012 is 6 years away, by the time which the present squads could be retired and disbanded for all we know or care.

It is all wishful thinking and perhaps a hint of Dementia. Let it go already. Accept the fact that a bad decision was made and move on. Lick your wounds and sulk if you must but come up with a better and more viable solution that does not reek of opportunistic corruption. With that said, I leave you with an image that will probably conjure up nightmares for days to come. Tell me this isn’t the face of madness.

Articles:
London Sports Centre Project To Be Pursued - Bernama.com
Ministry to push for project - The Star
Ministry sticks with London sports centre plan - New Straits Times