KUALA LUMPUR: The Youth and Sports Ministry wants sports facilities in the country to be accessible to national athletes and the public.
Minister Hannah Yeoh said the move was important for grassroots development.
"The ministry will be looking into cooperating with the Education Ministry, for example, to open all sports facilities in schools. Schools are located in housing areas and have sports infrastructure such as fields and so on. The government will also be able to save costs from building new infrastructure," she said.
"For example, in squash, we see many champions coming from Kedah. However, we know there are not many squash courts in the state. We will look into how we can provide such facilities."
She was speaking to reporters after the REDtone International Junior Open Squash Championships in Bukit Jalil today.
Yeoh said her ministry would meet national sports associations to discuss their needs and the welfare of athletes.
She said the ministry would gather feedback from the meetings in the next 100 days before drafting new policies for sports development.
It will be presented in parliament.
Commenting on the Redtone event, Yeoh said the ministry would assist stakeholders increase the number of tournaments for young players in the country.
"With more tournaments, our young talents can improve and make breakthroughs.
"I do not have a big budget for sports. I will present the budget in Parliament and get the feedback from all quarters."