Great News - Chess Is Back In MSSM Calendar

What a relief for below news. Chess is back in the MSSM calendar. Kudos to the Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin (below picture) for allocating MYR 89 million for sports and co-curricular activities in schools.

( credit : http://www.jphpk.gov.my )

February 04, 2010 17:40 PM

Muhyiddin Announces Allocation, MSSM Can Reinstate 11 Excluded Sports

JOHOR BAHARU, Feb 4 (Bernama) -- The Malaysian Schools Sports Council (MSSM) can reinstate the 11 sports it had excluded from its calendar as Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin announced Thursday an RM89-million allocation by the Education Ministry for sports and co-curricular activities in schools.

Muhyiddin, who is also Education Minister, said the allocation would enable the MSSM to have all the 24 sports in its programme catering for the Under-12, Under-15 and Under-18.

Early last month, the Education Ministry had slashed the annual allocation to the MSSM, thus leaving the MSSM no choice but to reduce the number of sports in the calendar.

The 11 sports excluded were bowling, squash, archery, table tennis, rugby, cricket, sailing, softball, handball, cross country and chess.

"Initially, many quarters were disappointed with the MSSM decision to reduce the number of sports from its calendar, but I have issued a directive for the sports to be reinstated.

"The RM89-million allocation will be used in every school and the sports can be held," he told reporters after officiating at the groundbreaking of a stadium and sports complex of Educity@Iskandar in Nusajaya.

Muhyiddin said the sports policy reversal of the ministry would be translated into additional allocations under the 10th Malaysia Plan (2011-2015) for construction of sports infrastructure such as school fields.

"Under the 10th Malaysia Plan, we will develop sports infrastructure in schools. Some schools even do not have fields," he said.

He also said that the per capita of students participating in sports would also be increased.

Muhyiddin said the ministry was in the process of setting up a sports teacher training institute specially to train teachers to become sports coaches.

Four sports excellence centres in existing teacher training institutes in Johor, Terengganu, Sarawak and Sabah would serve as feeder centres for the Raja Melewar Sports Teacher Training Institute in Seremban, he added.

A total of 320 teachers would undergo training in eight sports beginning in the middle of next year, he said.

Johor Menteri Besar Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman and Iskandar Investment Berhad chairman Tan Sri Azman Mokhtar were also present at the event.

-- BERNAMA

source : Bernama