Moving forward to stand on their own

   Sport   5 Minutes

IT is heartwarming news that the Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC) and Malaysia Basketball Association (MABA) have announced plans to look into business ventures.

This is a new approach and the nation will be rooting for their success.

The two sport bodies naturally need funds to enhance the progress of their respective sports.

MHC SHOP full of stock for sale.

MHC president Datuk Seri Subahan Kamal, when announcing the registration of a business entity under the name of Speedy Tigers Sdn Bhd last week, said that to win medals, there must be a consistent flow of money into their kitty.

Consider the cost – they must pay the juniors, seniors, as well as women’s local and foreign coaches. There are other costs still.

Subahan said MHC gets less money from the government. Understandably so. There are a host of other sports that must be funded.

As for sponsorship, there are only so many sponsors that can help them.

For the ongoing 13th Junior World Cup (JWC) at Bukit Jalil, it roughly costs MHC RM3.5 million, with the biggest slice of RM1.6m going to the International Hockey Federation (FIH) as a hosting fee.

There are also expenditures for the current New Zealand Tour (Dec 8-18) to prepare the senior squad for the Olympic Qualifier in January in Oman.

The women’s squad also needs money to prepare for their Olympic Qualifier.

MHC managed to secure sponsors from staunch supporters of hockey, Tenaga Nasional, RM1 million for the JWC, and other sponsorships from SpeedMart 99 RM1.2m and Orang Kampung (OK) RM300,000 worth of cash and sponsorship in kind.

MHC’s idea of registering Speedy Tigers as a business entity is to generate money for the long term as they also have many more tournaments coming up after the JWC.

MHC’s have set up their shop called ‘MHC Shop,’ which sells national jerseys, running and turf shoes on the ground floor of the National Hockey Stadium.

MABA, on the other hand, are looking to become the first financially self-sustainable national sports association (NSA) in Malaysia after signing a land redevelopment deal with Exsim.

The joint venture with Exsim will see Wisma MABA and the adjacent MABA Stadium at Jalan Hang Jebat demolished to make way for the new MABA Suitez @ KL City Centre project.

MABA-Exsim have dubbed the project a hospitality building – essentially a serviced apartment – featuring two blocks of 60-storey towers with approximately 1,200 units, though this remains subject to approval from the relevant authorities.

The project has an estimated gross development value of RM800 million.

MABA president Datuk Seri Lee Tian Hock said that MABA will receive a cash consideration of RM170 million from the deal, which will be reinvested by purchasing units in the new buildings.

Work at the site is expected to begin by the end of next year, subject to approval, and is expected to be completed within five or six years.

Lee said that when ready, MABA will have a very good stream of recurring income (through transient rentals) estimated to generate roughly RM4 to RM6 million each year.

This income will be used to help run MABA’s annual programmes which can cost between RM3 million and RM4 million each year, as well as cover operating expenses of about RM1 million each year.

Lee also said that they cannot keep asking the government for funding and cannot rely on donations all the time.

They have to learn to be independent.

Maba will also receive a 3,000 square feet office in one of the new buildings, with a three-on-three basketball court next to it, to use as their headquarters.

Wisma MABA, a 12-storey building, was developed in 1971 while the MABA Stadium, which has a seating capacity of 1,800 people, was built in 1995.

While it is encouraging to see National Sports Associations (NSAs) moving towards being self-reliant for their funds, they must be warned that funds generated through their efforts are properly accounted for, managed well, and used for their sports-related programmes.

NSAs must be wary of changes in officials during elections who may have different ideas to utilise the available funds and deviate from the original goals.

Let us not forget the misappropriation of funds, as in 2008, when RM3.8 million of the Malaysian Paralympic Council (MPC)’s funds were used for an unapproved, high-risk investment by its president.

This was done through a company called Paralimpik Ventures which the president and his two sons are majority shareholders. The money was channeled to a company in the US, where it became “irrecoverable” and the MPC were unable to contact the US company afterward.

The amount was initially written off the MPC’s accounts to cover the loss, but some committee members decided to run their investigations and concluded that it was a bad debt, meaning that it will remain in their accounts until the money is returned.

We must also be reminded of the Rakan Sukan funding programme which was initiated by the then Sports Minister, Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman.

The Rakan Sukan programme was introduced in 1994 to attract the private sector to invest in sports.

A man shopping at the MHC Shop.

It was a programme to prepare athletes for the 1998 Kuala Lumpur Commonwealth Games.

While it was a good programme for funding, sadly only a few sports made good use of it and enjoyed good relations with their sponsor even until now.

Hockey and basketball are two associations that have good relations with their sponsors, Tenaga Nasional and Petronas.

Malaysian Tenpin Bowling Congress (MTBC), is another association that looks for funds through their own initiative through sponsors like Century Logistics Holdings Bhd and proceeds from concerts.

Former National Sports Council (NSC) director-general Datuk Ahmad Shapawi Ismail, early last year, had voiced out his views that the Rakan Sukan may be reintroduced following recent government budget cuts for sports.

It is reliably learnt, that the Road to Gold programme maybe pursuing on a similar programme like the Rakan Sukan.

But again, whether it will work depends greatly on the NSAs who have to be accountable and transparent in using the funds provided. If the plans do materialise.

Additionally, some associations have been moving forward to create a positive image for their sports by requesting government assistance to provide land areas for their own buildings or exchange for land parcels.

The new FAM building will have five stories and will be located next to the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) headquarters in Putrajaya Football City.

FAM, which has been based at Wisma FAM in Kelana Jaya since 1980, is expected to transfer all operations and governance to the new headquarters. It should be fully completed by early 2025. It opened in 1991 and was bought from the City Hall at RM2 per square foot.

Now, they plan to relocate.

When the building was constructed, the then vice-president, Tunku Imran Tuanku Ja’afar, proposed the idea of having a permanent tenant – a hotel – that would ensure OCM a steady stream of income.

OCM also serves as an office space for many national sports associations. OCM now hopes to move with the times and relocate to a new state-of-the-art building by the end of 2025.

OCM’s reasoning for reallocation is that as an umbrella body,a new facility is required to serve Malaysian sports better.

Among the areas being considered are Bukit Jalil and Putrajaya because of their proximity to the National Sports Complex.

It is said that the financing for the new building will be done by disposing of the current Wisma OCM building and site. Options such as working out a land swap are being considered.

All is well and good in the name of progress and moving forward, as long as everything is done above board.