| FRIDAY, MARCH 10, 2017 | THE STRAITS TIMES |

PARLIAMENT B5

Committee of Supply debate: Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth

$2.16 billion
Total bill, up 10.1 per cent
5
more ActiveSG academies
8 in 10
Singaporeans attended an arts event or activity in 2015
37,000
Number of people that projects supported by Our Singapore Fund have
and clubs to launch this year reached out to

FAS urged to elect Enhance vibrancy

new leaders soon
MP Baey says association needs to develop a multi-year
strategic plan, as MPs voice concern about local football
Wang Meng Meng Football Association of Singapore
(FAS) to hold its election of office
bearers soon as the sport lies in lim-
It is arguably the only sport that can bo, awaiting a new set of leaders to
draw 55,000 people to the National chart its course.
Stadium, but the state of football As the football fraternity awaits
has got MPs concerned. the announcement of the date of
In a speech delivered in Parlia- the election, which has to be called
ment yesterday, Parliamentary Sec- by May 20, Mr Baey pointed out:
retary (Culture, Community and FAS has been under the guidance
Youth) Baey Yam Keng urged the of a provisional council since Nov
NO TIME TO LOSE
Until the new leadership is elected, the
direction of FAS remains uncertain. We
urge the FAS to conduct the election soon.
16, 2016, after the term of (the) last
council expired. Until the new lead-
ership team is elected, the direction
of FAS remains uncertain.
We urge the FAS to conduct the
election soon.
Contacted last night, Mr Lim Kia
Tong, president of FAS interim
council, told The Straits Times that
the elections are on the horizon.
The lawyer said: We have been
working feverishly to get this histor-
ic elections on the way.
We are moving very close to call-
ing (for the elections) as FAS is re-
ceiving some final guidance from
(world governing body) Fifa.
Responding to Mr Faisal Manap
(Aljunied GRC), Mr Baey outlined
what the FAS should do to take the
game, which he said generates a
lot of public interest, forward. He
said its new leaders would need to
develop a multi-year strategic
plan, which must address areas
such as youth and coach develop-
on the sports fraternity to elect
strong leaders to drag it out of its
current rut. He told the House: In
October last year, we sank to our
lowest-ever world ranking of 171.
Currently, we are at 164 and things
dont look like they are going to get
better any time soon.
The S-League is dying a slow and
painful death.
Where did it all go wrong?
He blamed a lack of leadership
and a lack of passion for this sad
state of affairs and expressed a
hope that real leaders with real pas-
sion and no hidden agendas step for-
ward, and get the game back to
where it should be.
Mr Baey replied that the need for
good governance applies to all na-
tional sports associations, not just
football.
Our NSAs need leaders who can
unite their fraternities around a
sound strategic plan for the devel-
opment of their sport, he said.
He urged them to build organisa-
tional capabilities which would en-
able them to govern their sports ef-
fectively.
This includes investing in and de-
veloping professional coaches and
officials which would help enthusi-
asts and athletes improve, and cre-
ating a sustainable ecosystem for
their respective sports. Mr Baey
added: With strong leadership,
good governance, effective manage-
of Sports Hub
The operators of the Singapore Sports Hub have
been urged to do more to ensure the billion-dollar
facility is buzzing with activity.
Parliamentary Secretary for Culture, Community
and Youth Baey Yam Keng noted that the $1.33 bil-
lion Kallang venue has hosted major events such as
the 2015 SEA Games, National Day Parade and con-
certs featuring A-listers like Madonna and A-mei.
Nonetheless, he said, more can and should be
done by Sports Hub Private Limited (SHPL) to en-
hance the vibrancy of the Sports Hub and improve the
quality of its calendar of events and programming.
These should include major international events,
as well as those the community can participate in.
The call comes two days after the Sports Hub,
which has come under scrutiny following complaints
about its high rental costs and thin slate of top-level
events, released data showing encouraging participa-
tion figures for its community programmes. From
38,000 participants in 2015, the number rose to
92,000 last year. It is targeting 100,000 this year.
It staged the HolyCrit cycling race and Communi-
ty Shield football match last month, and will host the
upcoming Coldplay concert, HSBC Singapore Rugby
Sevens and two more Super Rugby games.
Mr Baey also addressed the issue of the hiring
costs, saying: SHPL has indicated that it will seek
to keep third-party costs for events at the Sports
Hub in check. We have communicated to SHPL that

MR BAEY YAM KENG, Parliamentary Secretary for Culture,
Community and Youth.
ment, community outreach and par-
ticipation, and football excellence.
The subject of football drew a
hard-hitting speech from Nominat-
ed MP Ganesh Rajaram, who called
ment and sound technical capabili- they should have transparent and defensible pric-
ties, the sport as a whole can devel- ing policies that make (the Sports Hub) attractive as
op and grow to its full potential. a venue to event organisers.
meng@sph.com.sg Wang Meng Meng

New $50m matching grant for elite athletes

May Chen
The Government has pledged an ad-
ditional $50 million over the next
five years for high performance
sport, but as much as another $100
million could separately be chan-
nelled into backing elite athletes, if
a new matching grant is maximised
successfully.
This comes after a new One Team
Singapore matching grant was an-
nounced yesterday, an initiative
that will see the Government match
dollar-for-dollar donations up to
$50 million over the next five years
in a bid to grow the resource pool
that the nations sporting best can
draw from.
The initiatives come after a histor-
ic year for Singapore sport.
Swimmer Joseph Schooling won
the Republics first Olympic gold in
Rio de Janeiro, while para-swim-
mers Yip Pin Xiu (two golds) and
Theresa Goh (one bronze) also
reached the Paralympic podium.
It is hoped that the matching
grant will prompt the corporate sec-
tor and the public to contribute to
the success of national athletes.
Minister for Culture, Community
and Youth Grace Fu announced the
grant yesterday in Parliament,
while speaking about enhance-
ments to the High Performance
Sports (HPS) system.
The HPS $50 million first an-
nounced by Finance Minister
Heng Swee Keat during the Budget
will be disbursed on top of the ex-
isting budget for the HPS system,
bringing expenditure to about $70
million a year.
The HPS, which supports both
able-bodied athletes as well as
those with disabilities, covers com-
ponents such as athletes allowanc-
es, annual grants to national sports
associations, as well as sports medi-
cine and sports science support.
The new injection is expected to
put a targeted focus on building sup-
port capability in areas like coach-
ing and technical know-how.
It will also be used to give athletes
more opportunities to train and
compete in a more conducive envi-
ronment.
Podium success at world champi-
onships and the Olympics requires
a focused and sustained effort at all
levels, said Ms Fu.
A talented and dedicated athlete
is a necessary starting point. To
groom that athlete into a world
champion, we need great coaches
supported by deep sports science
and sports medicine capabilities.
She was responding to questions
from Mr Darryl David (Ang Mo Kio
GRC) and Dr Lim Wee Kiak (Sem-
bawang GRC) about government ef-
forts to further enhance the sup-
port system for top athletes.
It is understood that under this ad-
ditional funding, resources will also
be set aside for athletes who aim to
shine at major Games but do not
come under the Sports Excellence
(Spex) Scholarship, the countrys
elite sports support programme.
The new targeted funding could
put athletes such as Olympians Jus-
tin Liu and Denise Lim in good
stead as the sailors aim for a run at
the 2020 Tokyo Games.
Despite qualifying for Rio in 2015,
the pair, who did not meet the Singa-
pore Sailing Federations criteria
for funding then and are not Spex
scholarship recipients, got there
largely on their own dime.
They forked out an estimated
$100,000 to cover travel and train-
ing needs, even paying their
coachs salary themselves.
Said Liu, who estimated that their
2020 campaign could cost
$100,000 a year: One of the biggest
challenges in our Rio campaign was
when we were trying to secure quali-
fication.
We fell through the cracks and
struggled for funds. Hopefully, the
additional funding will be beneficial
for athletes like us.
maychen@sph.com.sg

Housewife
Suzana Hamzah
(centre, in black)
has been leading
about 40
residents in
morning
exercises at a
newly completed
SIP project near
her Boon Lay
home. PHOTO:
COURTESY OF
SPORT SINGAPORE

In the works: More sporting spaces near residents homes

For the last eight months, house-
wife Suzana Hamzah has begun
each weekday with a good sweat, ex-
ercising at a new multi-purpose
lawn court a few minutes walk
from her home in Boon Lay Avenue.
What began as a personal pledge
to get fitter with two friends has now
grown to workouts with a group of
about 40 who live in the area. They
spend about an hour every weekday
morning following Ms Suzanas lead
in exercises such as jumping jacks,
planks and yoga poses.
The facility where they work out
is part of a newly completed
Sports-In-Precinct (SIP) project,
which also includes a street soccer
court and jogging track. Without
easy access to such a space, the
47-year-old reckons that she and
her band of housewives would not
be as committed to physical activity.
Its really convenient and its also
sheltered, so not even the rain will
get in the way of us exercising, said
Ms Suzana, who noted the nearest
alternative venue would be the park
at Jurong Lake, about 3km away.
Building on such SIP initiatives,
$50 million will be set aside for 20
such projects across the island, ex-
pected to be completed by 2020.
The SIP drive began in 2014 to con-
struct more sporting spaces in local
communities, particularly in places
farther from town sports centres.
Minister for Culture, Community
and Youth Grace Fu announced this
yesterday during the debate on her
ministrys budget.
She said: We will expand the
roll-out of the SIP programme to ad-
ditional precincts to ensure a good
geographical spread and create
more sporting spaces near residents
homes.
Parliamentary Secretary Baey
Yam Keng noted that the additions
will now include precincts that are
not eligible for the Housing Boards
Neighbourhood Renewal Pro-
gramme. He was responding to
questions from Mr Melvin Yong
(Tanjong Pagar GRC) on whether
more new spaces would be provid-
ed for community use.
A second SIP project in Jurong
Spring is expected to be completed
this year, and there are also plans
for another site in Taman Jurong.
Besides more investment in infra-
structure, there will also be more
programmes in the form of five
more ActiveSG academies and
clubs to encourage greater partici-
pation in sport. Academies and
clubs for badminton, frisbee, floor-
ball, hockey and martial arts will be
introduced this year.
Said Ms Fu: The programmes
will cater to different competency
levels and provide young adults
with both recreational and competi-
tive opportunities to remain active
in sports even after leaving the
school system.
There will also be Active Masters
programmes catering to adults
aged 40 and above. The activities
under this initiative will include
functional exercises and modified
sports and fitness activities.
Three academies for basketball,
football and tennis and one club,
for athletics, were launched last
year, followed by an Outdoor Ad-
venture Club in January.
May Chen