Malaysia plans to build RM490 million sports academy
Located on the outskirts of London, the extravagant project is raising eyebrows
By Leslie Lopez
The Straits Times
Malaysia’s plan to build a half-billion-ringgit sports academy on the outskirts of London has drawn flak from some quarters who say this is an extravagance the country cannot afford.
Government officials say that the Sports Ministry is quietly pushing ahead with an ambitious project to build a sports excellence academy at the cost of roughly 490 million ringgit on a 17.8ha piece of prime real estate owned by a Malaysian research agency in Hertfordshire.
Proponents of the plan say the new academy will help Malaysian athletes excel internationally, develop the country's capabilities in sports science and medicine and improve the standard of coaching.
Should Singapore up the stake and build a bigger one in the USA or Australia? Then we can make our footballers world class and aim for the world cup...Our impossible dream...may just come true.
12 comments:
Zalim said...
Looks like everyone is desperate to take as much as they can since there is not much left. Wah! betul betul teruk sekarang! Dah tak peduli lagi....makan saja! Rakyat boleh makan pasir...peduli apa! biar saya kenyang! Oi...teruk betul!
Sunday, May 28, 2006 1:34:40 AM
badok said...
Wat else can we do..?
We all screwed Malaysian..especialy those stand by BN and UMNO.
Late Razak sweat driping frm his forehead..but najib... saliva dripping from his mouth.
Sunday, May 28, 2006 2:42:42 AM
Just a couple of the numerous replies in Malaysia Today. Looks like we must celebrate greed, the most powerful force in creativity.
Before S'pore do something stupid, it should ask itself whether national pride is more important than the well-being of citizens to justify spending taxpayer monies.
Durian is justifiable because we need to have an icon as the cultural and artistic hub of Asia.
durian is still in the red despite heavy subsidies from government. this answer your justification. icon of cultural and artistic hub indeed! what an expensive white elephant to maintain. LOL
this is the part i cannot accept. they want to be high class, or have snobbish taste, to appear culture and well cultivated, to act as if they have arrived, but also want to be subsidised with public fund to enjoy the finer things in life.
Well, you guys obviously do not understadn the meaning of the word "icon". here's the definition from dictionary.com: An important and enduring symbol
Doesn't say anything about it having to be profitable.
ok ok, is the durian important and enduring?
i think the new icons of the holy trinity will be more important and enduring than the durian. call it the 3 wise men, the 3 warriors or guardian, father son and holy ghost, 3 joss sticks....
It is important as a focal point for the staging of arts and culture performances in the country. As for enduring, I don't see anyone clamouring for it to be demolished anytime soon, so the answer would be yes as well.
a $600 million investment and still bleeding is bad as a national icon. i would prefer a national icon that is self supporting, or if not, should not be that costly.
the 20 meter statue of kim il song or stalin is cheaper, maybe a couple of millions each. this kind of money we can afford. or we can build a few more merlions. not that wasteful even if it fails as an icon.
No one says an icon needs to be profitable. An icon is also never built as an investment. It is a one-time sunk cost.
third world countries build icons for the sake of icons. first world countries build icons by accident. what was meant as a utility piece, for a specific need, somehow becomes an icon.
a good example is the crooked bridge. there is no need for us to have a bridge. malaysia wants a bridge, by hook or by crook, as an icon, even when it is a crooked bridge or a half bridge. it is not need driven, but image driven.
who cares why an icon is built. as long as it becomes one.
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