KUALA LUMPUR: Youth and Sports Minister Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman is confident that the Harimau Malaya can overcome Vietnam in the second leg of the 2018 AFF Suzuki Cup final tomorrow.
The minister said he was inspired by the show of spirit by Harimau Malaya supporters and would be with them to lend support to the Malaysian squad when they play at the MyDinh National Stadium in Hanoi.
“The team has shown encouraging performance. At the same time, they have brought together Malaysians of various races and religions. I am inspired.
“I’ll go with them (supporters) to Vietnam…We have been able to charter four AirAsia flights. We will bring as many Ultras (Malaya) to give strong support to Harimau Malaya,” he told reporters after the Malaysia Olympic Council Award Night and Annual Dinner here Wednesday night. – Bernama
Syed Saddiq hoped that all Malaysians will support Tan Cheng Hoe’s squad despite not going to Hanoi.
“If you do not go there (Hanoi), switch on the television and watch the match with family members. There are plenty of places to gather like the warong (food stall), food shops and other public places. store and public place. The Youth and Sports Ministry will also make many live shows, “ he said.
During the first leg of the final match at the Bukit Jalil National Stadium on Tuesday, Malaysia bounced off from 0-2 to tie the Golden Dragons with a 2-2 draw.
In another development, Syed Saddiq said the ministry was confident that the sport’s performance would improve if the budget allocated for sports for 2019 could be efficiently and fairly distributed, adding that the National Sports Council was allocated over RM80 million.
He said efforts were also being made by the ministry to revive the Sports Partner concept to encourage more private companies and government-linked companies to work closely with the National Sports Association (NSA) for sports development.
Earlier, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, in her speech, said the government would increase the allocation for sports when the country’s economy had recovered.
She said the government was forced to cancel or review the allocation for sports development because of the current financial constraints. – Bernama
