Cycling: Fast track to glory

By RAJES PAUL

KUALA LUMPUR: Cycling will go on a faster track to win more honours for the country if a plan to give greater emphasis on sports in school is carried out effectively.

The Malaysian National Cycling Federation (MNCF) deputy president Datuk Naim Mohamed welcomed yesterday the Education Ministry’s proposal to review the education curriculum to place more importance on sports.

On Monday, Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, who is also the Education Minister, said that he wanted students to strike a balance between studies and sports.

For the past years, cycling has not been included as part of the national schools (MSSM) calendar.

Naim said that he was happy with the proposal because the MNCF had hit the wall many times in their bid to promote cycling in schools.

“This is the most important step towards developing sports. For us, it will be an answer to our prayers,” said Naim.

“After trying for so many years to establish cycling as part of the MSSM calendar, this is something that we will accept with open arms.

“Cycling was finally accepted as an MSSM sport this year but unfortunately, the programme will only be carried out next year.”

Naim added that cycling had been sidelined due to the lack of expertise and concern over the safety of the students.

“But we are ready to train the teachers. We are also ready to take safety precautionary measures.

“We can host the events on the track instead of on the road,” he said.

Naim said that the impact would be significant if cycling were given emphasis in schools.

“We have achieved a lot even when cycling was on the sidelines as far as school sports were concerned. Imagine what we could have done if schools have cycling teams just like football, hockey and badminton,” he said.

Currently, cycling is one of the three sports under the 2012 Road to London (Olympics) programme. Their stars include Azizul Hasni Awang, Josiah Ng, Rizal Tisin, Mohd Edrus Yunus and Fatehah Mustafa.

Naim also said that the move to give sports prominence was also expected to be a tool to build the nation.

“Sport is also an element that can fuel the spirit of patriotism within us. And if it is given its due standing in schools, it will certainly help with unity and teamwork among our children,” he said.