Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports Yang Berhormat Dato Seri Setia Awang Haji Nazmi bin Haji Mohamad yesterday said the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports (MCYS) was given a budget allocation of BND85,276,630 during the 20th session of the Legislative Council (LegCo) meeting.
The minister also highlighted accomplishments by four programmes outlined in the MCYS Strategic Plan 2020-2024. He said from 2020 to 2023, 34 of the 83 initiatives (41 per cent) were implemented and the rest slated to be completed in the 2024-2025 financial year.
Yang Berhormat Dato Seri Setia Awang Haji Nazmi said the mid-term review of the ministry’s strategic plan played a pivotal role in updating planning, implementation and management process, ensuring alignment with desired impacts and addressing current and future challenges with the available resources.
The minister also outlined five focus areas to complement MCYS’s strategic plan.
PROGRESSIVE SOCIETY
Yang Berhormat Dato Seri Setia Awang Haji Nazmi said the ministry aims to advance the caring society with emphasis on eradicating poverty while enhancing self-sufficiency and raising socio-economic status of underprivileged groups.
Some BND23.6 million has been allocated to achieve the goal including funds for infrastructure improvement and assistance programmes.
YOUTH
Some BND11.2 million has been allocated to foster visionary and hopeful youth, including BND3 million for youth development and entrepreneurship programme; BND2.1 million for self-identity and generating human capital; and BND5 million for youth empowerment programmes.
SPORTS
The MCYS is allocating BND16.7 million to strengthen the sports ecosystem to become more inclusive with a focus on high-performance sports and community engagement.
An allocation of BND7.8 million has been made for infrastructure and assets maintenance and BND2.1 million for development programmes targeting sports associations, athletes and coaches.
CULTURE
The ministry is allocating BND26.5 million for programmes to strengthen patriotism, preserve culture, heritage and history.
OPTIMISING RESOURCES AND DEVELOPMENT
The MCYS is investing BND7.2 million to enhance skills, optimising digital technology usage and improving infrastructure and facilities, including programmes for human resource development and asset management. – Rokiah Mahmud
