Sports Center or Holiday Base?

We all know London is a popular destination for many Malaysians.
We also realise that Malaysia has not fared well in sports events even at Asian games level except for a few sports like bowling, squash and badminton.

In the sixties our hockey team could compete among the best but now we are considered easy meat for the top teams. It seems that sports that require teamwork like soccer and hockey are down as team spirit is lacking.

Perhaps the problem lies not with Malaysian sportsmen but the team managers and coaches who do not instill discipline and the right attitude to training. There is also the patronage and political interference problems in sports bodies, many of which keep on the same officials even though the standards keep deteriorating.

Now we want to make a quantum leap to set up a RM490m sports center near London on land that was granted for Malaysia to do research for the RRI.

At first it seems a good idea to try and make good use of the land but using it for a sports center seems extravagant.
We already have the Bukit Jalil sports schools that have produced some good athletes. What we need are good trainers and you observed that during the World Cup even poorer African countries had foreign coaches.

The cost for a foreign coach to come here is the same as in Europe except you may need to pay extra for airfares and accommodation.
Perhaps the Sports Minister should make a more plausible explanation for the sports center than making use of an existing government asset?
The speed at reaching such a decision seems to be like the Crooked Bridge project.

It seems that Malaysia has not been making full use of this research facility as perhaps most plantation companies prefer to do their own research to gain a competitive edge.
I suggest we would benefit more if some money is invested to enhance the capability of this research facility; especially on palm oil and biodiesel technology and also bio-technology.

Such a facility may attract the thousands of government scholars that are refusing to come home and with this setup it will not be a total loss of our Malaysian talents.

graphics: http://www.utsa.edu/ofpd/1604%20master%20plan%20web%20site/illustrations/large/sports.jpg