National Sports Day 2023 to continue in Opposition states, chaired by PM’s Dept, says ministry in response to Kedah MB
KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 22 — The Ministry of Youth and Sports today confirmed that National Sports Day 2023 will take place in the Opposition states of Kelantan, Terengganu, Perlis and Kedah.
In a statement today, the ministry said that arrangements for National Sports Day will be chaired by the Implementation Coordination Unit (ICU) of the Prime Minister’s Department, as decided by the Cabinet previously.
“The aim is to optimise the management and execution of federal government programmes and activities,” it said.
The ministry also said that Kedah Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Muhammad Sanusi and the four states’ youth and sports exco members were invited to generate excitement for the programme at the respective state level.
This comes after Sanusi claimed yesterday that sports exco members in the four state governments administered by Perikatan Nasional (PN) will no longer chair the National Sports Day at the state level as before.
Yesterday, Malay daily Berita Harian reported that Sanusi criticised the use of District Officers at the district level to chair the National Sports Day, a move not supported by sports exco members.
According to the news portal, Sanusi had also previously criticised Deputy Higher Education Minister Datuk Mohammad Yusof Apdal for allegedly prohibiting public higher education institutions in Kedah from attending programmes organised by the state government.
However, Mohammad Yusof has denied issuing any such order.
Sanusi, also the Kedah PN chairman, said that sports and education should not be “victims” of politics.
