SERI KEMBANGAN: Foreign experts hired by the Podium Programme could face the axe after the Indonesia Asian Games as the government looks to cut down on spending.
Sports Minister Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman hinted that a restructuring of the programme is in the pipeline and confirmed that the status of the programme’s foreign employees will be looked into soon.
"At the moment the amount of money spent on the Podium Programme is too high. We need to find a way to reduce it," said Saddiq, who took part in the MEX Ride 2018 event on Sunday.
"We (Sports Ministry) are currently discussing the matter with the Podium Programme and we hope to find the middle ground on the issue. This initiative is very important because it is meant to develop high performance athletes."
Saddiq added that the programme has had a positive effect, however, cost cutting measures need to be taken in addition to finding sponsorship to help make it more sustainable.
"We will fully discuss it after the Asian Games and make an announcement after that."
A seven-gold medal target for the national contingent competing at the Asian Games was announced on Friday.
Critics have questions why the target set is low despite the huge investment into the programme.
The Podium Programme is under the National Sports Institute with Australian Tim Newenham as its director.
Among the goals of the Podium Programme are to place Malaysia among the top-10 at the Asian Games and to prepare elite athletes for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
"The seven gold is the minimum - we are looking at seven to 11 gold. The target was set by the Chef-de-Mission, Olympic Council of Malaysia and the Podium Programme. There is a lot more to improve,” he added.
