PUTRAJAYA, Oct 22 — The enforcement of the Sports Development (Amendment) Act 2018 will not affect the development of sports in the country, but instead seeks to safeguard the interests of the participants of sporting events, said the Youth and Sports Deputy Minister Steven Sim Chee Keong.
Acknowledging the concern of sport activists against the amendment to Section 36 of the soon-to-be-enforced Act, the deputy minister said the provision was only applicable to organising companies and not to those with sports club’s status.
“The latest amendment also includes provisions that would exclude sporting events for welfare and charitable work,” he said in a statement here today.
The amendment to the Sports Development Act 1997 that was passed by the Parliament on April 3 among others, involved an increase in the penalty fines and imprisonment for organising companies that failed to comply with the licensing provisions under Section 36.
Upon enforcement, offenders shall be liable to a fine of not less than RM50,000 but not more than RM500,000 or imprisonment of not more than five years or both.
Sim said the amendment was also in line with the current trend of increasing number of sporting events, to ensure that each event was conducted professionally.
“This is to prevent unfortunate circumstances such as accidents, frauds and mismanagements that not only could harm the participants but also could risk their lives,” he said, adding that the ministry would also monitor the enforcement of the amendments and welcome any feedbacks from stakeholders in a bid to make improvements from time to time. — Bernama
