KUALA LUMPUR: The Youth and Sports Ministry will consider a number of requests for funding from the Malaysia National Cycling Federation (MNCF) to address issues faced in the sport.
Newly elected MNCF president Datuk Amarjit Singh Gill and his committee met with Yeoh in Bukit Jalil today, where she was briefed on various issues, including Velodrom Rakyat in Ipoh which is currently in an unusable state.
Yeoh said it will take time for the Sports Ministry, via the National Sports Council (NSC), to come to a decision regarding the funding.
"Three separate topics were discussed today, the first is a request to upgrade Velodrom Rakyat because there is a need for it," said Yeoh, during an impromptu press conference after the meeting.
"The second is funding for the national road cycling team, which will also be considered by the Ministry.
"The third is a request for funding to organise tournaments. I have explained to MNCF that this can be done through the Youth and Sports Ministry's Sports Matching grant and Community Sports Fund which is open to all sports associations.
"We will look into their (MNCF) requests and inform them when we have come to a decision. So many different sports come to us with all sorts of requests so we have to prioritise. We can't afford to fulfil every request.
"I also have plans to visit Velodrom Rakat with MNCF to see for myself the condition of the track."
It is understood that the wooden surface of Velodrom Rakyat, which was revamped in the mid 2010s, has deteriorated badly and has been in an unusable condition for more than a year.
This is because Velodrom Rakyat, unlike the National Velodrome in Nilai, is an open air venue and thus the wooden track is constantly exposed to the elements.
Yeoh added that the funding request for the road cycling team programme is intended for long term development of the road squad and is not to prepare the team for next year's Thailand Sea Games.
"There are no issues with our preparations for the Sea Games next year because those under the Sea Games programme are taken care of by NSC," said Yeoh.
"The funding request by MNCF is for the long-term development of the road team. There was previously support for this programme but it was halted in 2013."
The road team has struggled over the years and it was recently revealed that the riders barely had enough to eat three cheap meals a day and were forced to ask for donations to buy equipment such as tyres, tubes and chains in the lead up to Petronas Le Tour de Langkawi, which concluded last month.
The squad has been coached by Yusof Nasir, a volunteer, for roughly five years now.
MNCF had in the past received an RM1.5 million annual grant from the government to develop the road cycling team but it was halted in 2013 due to various issues.
Allegations of misappropriation of the RM1.5 funds, which MNCF was cleared of in 2015, did not help their cause. There has not been consistent funding for the national road team since then.