Will grading of sports facilities be a reality?

 

I think sports facilities in the country should be graded. It's only fair to the users / consumers.

I've seen poorly maintained sports facilities - both government- and privately-owned. Patrons should not pay ridiculous fees for substandard facilities. Period.

So when I was informed of plans to grade sporting facilities in Malaysia, I was obviously excited.

On July 5, I wrote that discussions are being held over the possibility of grading sporting facilities in Malaysia. This is similar to the evaluation and grading of food premises by local councils, nationwide.

Following the article, venue operators and owners told news website Twentytwo13 that having a set of evaluation and grading criteria for sports centres in Malaysia is certainly the way forward. But they had their concerns too.

“Ultimately, the elephant in the room is deciding who will be in charge of the grading process, and how it will benefit the community.” - National Sports & Fitness Venue Owners and Operators Association president Datuk V. Radhakrishnan

I was on BFM on Tuesday as we discussed this matter further.

I agree that this is not going to be a walk in the park. There must be buy-ins from the local council and state authorities. It's a mammoth task, without doubt, and one that requires a whole lot of political will - especially if new faces take over Menara KBS.

Simple tasks like making public the accounts of the 2017 KL SEA Games, the National Sports Vision 2030 and findings of the Podium Programme Enhancement Committee have not been done. 

Can the folks at the ministry handle something this complex?