KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 21 — The Youth and Sports Ministry will rebrand the annual National Sports Day by introducing the 2019 Malaysia Sports Challenge (MySC’19), a month-long sports and fitness programme aimed at transforming Malaysia into a sporting nation.
Its Deputy Minister Steven Sim Chee Kiong said the programme was the brainchild of Youth and Sports Minister Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman, and targeted a participation of five million people, of which 154,925 participants were from the federal level, 2,649,075 (state) and 2,196,000 more from the districts.
He said MySC’19 was an upgrade to the National Sports Day (NSD) as the programme will take place throughout October, as opposed to the NSD which is celebrated with fitness activities organised on the second Saturday of October annually.
Sim said MySC19 was also decided upon after a study on NSD by the Institute For Youth Research Malaysia (IYRES) recommended that the programme covered more days to encourage sports and fitness among Malaysians.
“One of the approaches taken is to widen the scope of the programme and to make it more comprehensive.
“MySc is also aimed at giving more access and time to the public where fitness and sporting activities are concerned instead of confining it to just a single day,” Sim said at a Hi-Tea event with sponsors here today.
MySc is also aimed at creating awareness on the importance of fitness and sports, enhancing unity among the people and to help contribute to the national economy through the development of the sports industry.
It is also aimed at deepening the people’s knowledge of sports and to recognise the efforts of Malaysians involved in sports grassroots development.
MySc’19’s pre-launch will take place on September 14, followed by the launch on October 1 before the main event on October 12 to be officiated by Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad. — Bernama
