THE Penang government is committed to promoting traditional sports that are increasingly forgotten by the people nowadays in view of the digital era.
State Youth and Sports Committee chairman Soon Lip Chee said this would be done under the ‘Sports For All’ initiative.
He said among the traditional sports that would be promoted are sepak raga tuju, layang-layang (kite), kabaddi and many more.
“These sports will be promoted through special programmes or festivals that will be conducted from time to time,” said Soon (PH-Bagan Jermal) during his winding-up speech at the State Legislative Assembly in Dewan Sri Pinang yesterday.
“For layang-layang, we will organise the kite festival in December this year at the Batu Kawan Stadium.
“The kite festival will include layang-layang workshop, wau exhibition and giant kite show.
“However, the organising of the festival still depends on the Covid-19 situation.
Apart from that, Soon said the Penang State Sports Council (MSNPP) has established a special programme known as ‘Penang Athlete Career Education (PACE)’.
“PACE is a programme that aims to produce high-performance athletes, who are well rounded in sports as well as studies, and also to help them build career paths.
“To serve the programme better, MSNPP will create a trust account that will be the main financial source in assisting the state athletes in the field of education, career and welfare.
“A RM200,000 allocation would be provided by MSNPP for the PACE programme,” he added.
According to Soon, the state government is also in the midst of preparing the Penang Sports Master Plan (PSMP) to encourage Penangites to be active in sports.
“Under the PSMP, it has three pillars of focus, namely athletes’ development, sports facility development and community sports development,” he said.
Story by Riadz Akmal
Pix by Noor Siti Nabilah Noorazis