THE Penang government has committed RM8 million to support the Penang Football Club (PFC) in their participation of the Super League this season.
State Youth and Sports Committee chairman Soon Lip Chee revealed this today when he told the Engagement Session between state executive councillors and assemblymen at St Giles The Wembley Hotel.
The session, which is akin to the State Legislative Assembly, is being held over two days and will end tomorrow.
Soon said the state government took note of the full separation of PFC from the Football Association of Penang (FAP).
PFC comes under the Penang Football Club Sdn Bhd, which was registered with the Companies Commission of Malaysia (CCM) on Sept 21 last year.
“It should have been operating independently without expecting support from the state government.
“But there was however the issue of credibility with the company wishing to take over Penang FC Sdn Bhd.
“So, the state government decided to place the Penang FC Sdn Bhd as a subsidiary under the Chief Minister Incorporated (CMI) and help them with their operating expenses for 2021,” Soon said.
To appreciate the services of former FAP president Datuk Dr Amar Pritpal Abdullah, Soon said Dr Amar Pritpal was made the executive director of the Penang FC Sdn Bhd effective February.
Other board members of Penang FC Sdn Bhd are Soon (chairman), state Financial Officer Datuk Dr Mohamad Farazi Johari, state Legal Adviser Datuk Norazmi Mohd Narawi, deputy State Secretary (Development) Datuk Azhar Arshad and CMI deputy general manager Barathi Suppiah.
Soon said through Dr Amar Pritpal’s help, they managed to sign up 30 players, including three goalkeepers.
He added that in line with the aspirations and goals of the Penang2030 vision, the state government was also planning to have a ‘Penang Sports Master Plan’ with the aim of making Penang a sports powerhouse.
They would focus on three aspects – athlete development and high-performance sports, development of mass sports or community sports, and development of sports facilities.
For youths, Soon said the state government, through the Penang Youth Development Corporation (PYDC), has initiated a number of programmes to equip them with skills and knowledge in this digital era.
“According to the statistics released by the Department of Statistics Malaysia, 26.5 percent of the Penang population are youths from 15 to 30 years old.
“If the youths are taken lightly, the process of building quality citizens will be affected and their potentials not realised,” he said.
Story by K.H. Ong
Pix by Ahmad Adil Muhamad & Darwina Mohd Daud