KUALA LUMPUR, April 14 — Former youth and sports minister Hannah Yeoh should be commended for her role in elevating sepak takraw into a more prestigious sport, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim today said today.

Speaking at the launch of the National Sepak Takraw Academy in Kampung Baru here today, Anwar said efforts to boost a sport long seen as a traditional Malay pastime reflected a more mature society.

“It is weird that the minister who made this a reality is a DAP minister,” he said.

“This is a sport that is played overwhelmingly by the Malays. This shows our society has matured,” Anwar added.

The RM6 million academy was developed under Yeoh’s tenure as youth and sports minister between 2022 and 2025, during which she introduced initiatives to strengthen grassroots development and promote international participation.

The academy, the first of its kind, is described as the only “complete” facility dedicated to sepak takraw, a sport with a relatively small global following but a strong fanbase in South-east Asia, particularly in Thailand and Indonesia.

The facility includes tournament-standard courts capable of hosting small-scale competitions, training amenities, seminar rooms for tactical and academic sessions, a sports café, and a football pitch.

The International Sepak Takraw Federation has also recognised efforts to elevate the sport’s global profile, awarding former youth and sports minister Hannah Yeoh a performance excellence award in January.

Yeoh played a key role in bringing the Sepak Takraw World Cup to Kuala Lumpur in 2024.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim today said he would approve an additional RM2 million in funding for the academy, on top of RM1 million previously announced by Youth and Sports Minister Taufiq Johari.

He said part of the RM2 million allocation will be channelled towards athlete support and development programmes at the academy.