Hats off to our young and dynamic sports minister Azalina Othman Said for allowing the financial accounts of Sukom 98 to be tabled and for putting transparency and accountability of government expenditure on firmer footing in this country.
Hopefully, these good values will rub off on other ministries where accountability and transparency are still not practiced, which result in public funds going down the drain or in additional funds being needed to repair the shoddy work done by previous contractors.
Two good examples are the MRRII ring road and the computer lab fiascos .
For six long years, Azalina's two predecessors failed to address the financial impact and cost of holding the glittering Commonwealth Games in which millions of ringgit was spent on building sport complexes to showcase our country's progress to the rest of the world.
It was also the last event in recent memory where Malaysians were proud of the performance of their athletes, who won a bounty of gold medals.
The gigantic Bukit Jalil sports complex now seems to be something of a white elephant. It is hardly being used. Poorer countries, which lack such basic facilities have produced more Olympic winners compared to our supposedly developed country.
While other countries can balance their financial statements within six months after gigantic sporting meets and show a decent profit on top of it, it took six long years for the Malaysian government to close the ghost of Sukom '98.
Financial irregularities, in which the loss of RM11 million (taxpayers hard earned money), speak volumes of the weaknesses of the Sukom team, with the brother-in-law of former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad at the helm.
Losing money on sporting events is not the issue here, but the possibility that somebody might have made an ill-gotten gain from Sukom '98 should be checked with a fine toothcomb by the authorities. Those hands which are not clean should be held accountable for their deeds.
With all the malaises surrounding our sports development (as the recent Olympics exposed), we should go back to basics to improve our sporting prowess. We were once known as a giant in football, hockey and badminton. The buck for the failure has to stop at the desks of the sport association presidents and their lackeys.
Those who preside over these sporting associations, should make way for new blood to revitalise the game. No excuses should be given now that we have failed to raise our flag at world events.
Hopefully, the giant step taken by the sports affairs minister in publishing Sukom '98's financial irregularities is the only first measure being taken in our quest to again be reckoned as a force in regional ad global sports.
There were glory days back then when Malaysian sportsmen played the game for the love of the country and not for monetary rewards, as is happening now.
