# The National Sports Policy and Malaysia's Podium Programme

> The National Sports Policy 2009 develops two pillars in parallel — Sport For All at the grassroots and High Performance Sport for international excellence. The Podium Programme, launched in 2016, is the elite-athlete funding engine under that second pillar.

- Category: sports
- Language: en
- Status: published
- Updated: 2026-08-01
- Canonical: https://negaraku.md/en/sports/national-sports-policy-podium-programme

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Every time a Malaysian athlete steps onto the Olympic podium, two different systems are in fact at work behind them — one that tries to get the whole population moving, and another that concentrates vast resources on the small handful capable of winning. Both live under the same policy document, but they are funded and measured in very different ways.

Understanding that difference is the key to understanding how Malaysia manages its sport.

## What is the difference between the National Sports Policy and the Podium Programme?

**The National Sports Policy** is the umbrella policy. The current version, the National Sports Policy 2009, defines it as "a sports development policy towards the formation of a sporting culture and the strengthening of national integration through comprehensive community involvement and the achievement of excellence at the international level." It sets out the goals, objectives and roles of every Government agency, non-Governmental body, sports association and individual.

**The Podium Programme**, on the other hand, is not a policy — it is an implementation programme. Launched on 2 February 2016 under the Ministry of Youth and Sports (KBS), it is an elite-athlete preparation programme managed through the National Sports Institute (ISN). If the National Sports Policy is the constitution of the country's sport, the Podium Programme is one of the specific implementation tools that supports the achievement of that policy's goals, particularly Objective 8, which emphasises international excellence.

The policy itself is underpinned by a legal framework: the **Sports Development Act 1997 (Act 576)**, which governs the registration and governance of sports bodies and establishes the office of the Sports Commissioner.

## What are the two pillars of the National Sports Policy?

The National Sports Policy 2009 firmly states that the two components "shall be developed in parallel with different emphases." This is the core division between grassroots development and elite sport.

| Feature | Sport For All | High Performance Sport |
|---|---|---|
| Core | Culture of participation | Culture of achievement |
| Goal | An active and healthy lifestyle for the people | Excellence at international competitions |
| Example activities | Charity runs, aerobics, traditional games | National athlete training for the Olympics and Asian Games |
| Lead agency | Department of Youth and Sports | National Sports Council and National Sports Institute |
| Measure of success | Community participation rate | Medals and world ranking |

The Podium Programme sits entirely within the right-hand column. It is not designed to increase the number of people doing sport; it is designed to prepare the country's most elite athletes so that they have a chance of winning at the international level.

## How does the Podium Programme work?

The Podium Programme filters out the athletes and events with the best chance of winning, then gives them full scientific support. According to ISN, the programme provides biomechanics, physiology, sports psychology, nutrition, performance analysis, sports medicine, physiotherapy and research services to selected athletes.

The programme's targets since its launch have been stated openly by ISN, among them:

- the country's first gold medal at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games;
- a top-ten placing at the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games and the Jakarta 2018 Asian Games;
- more medals at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games than before;
- ten athletes ranked in the world's top six; and
- sustainable sporting excellence beyond 2020.

This approach directly implements **Objective 8** of the National Sports Policy, which directs the country to "give priority focus to types of sports and events identified as having a high chance of success at the international level." The programme's coverage is concentrated on sports identified as having high medal potential; under the funding cycle announced in 2022, coverage was reported to span 41 sports.

## How much funding is channelled, and how is its cycle set?

Funding for the Podium Programme is channelled on a cyclical basis aligned with the calendar of major games, not as a single lump-sum allocation. Two major funding rounds have been announced publicly.

| Cycle | Amount | Announced | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 Budget | RM75 million | 23 October 2015 | Nutrition, training facilities, sports science and coaching under ISN management |
| 2022 onwards | RM240 million | 31 March 2022 | Four-year period, equivalent to RM60 million a year, covering 41 sports |

The four-year structure is no coincidence — it tracks the Olympic Games cycle. By locking in funding for a full round, athletes and coaches can plan long-term preparation without relying on uncertain annual allocations, something ISN management has emphasised as a prerequisite for comprehensive scientific training.

## What changed when allowances were converted into salaries?

In January 2024, KBS implemented a major reform to how Podium athletes are paid. The monthly allowances that had until then been in the nature of assistance were converted into **salaries** with a minimum base salary of RM1,500 a month, bringing athletes into the formal employment system.

The change brought two social protections that did not exist before:

- **EPF contributions** — 11 percent from the athlete and 13 percent from the National Sports Council as employer; and
- **SOCSO protection**.

As of January 2024, a total of 393 athletes were under the Podium Programme (307 regular athletes and 86 para athletes), on two-year contracts. The annual financial impact of this reform on the NSC is estimated at about RM16 million. Minister of Youth and Sports Hannah Yeoh described it as meeting athletes' demand for career security.

## Who sets the targets and coordinates the funding?

The governance chain flows directly from the National Sports Policy. Objective 8 assigns the roles of each party clearly:

- **The Ministry of Youth and Sports** sets policy and allocations.
- **The National Sports Council** is "responsible for coordinating and implementing the development of High Performance Sport at all levels."
- **The National Sports Institute** is "responsible for coordinating and implementing the development of sports science and medicine."
- **National sports associations** develop their athletes, coaches and officials.
- **The Olympic Council of Malaysia** and the **Paralympic Council of Malaysia** are the parent bodies responsible specifically for selecting athletes for international games.

In other words, targets are set according to the events with the best chance of winning, funding is locked in by games cycle, and implementation is divided between the NSC (coordination), ISN (science) and the associations (athlete development). The Podium Programme is where all these threads meet for the country's most elite athletes.

## What's next

If you are an athlete or coach, the most important step is to understand where you stand in this chain — your national sports association is the entry point to a recommendation for the Podium Programme, and Podium status now carries the implications of formal employment (salary, EPF, SOCSO), not merely an allowance.

For researchers and policymakers, two open questions are worth watching: how far the continued emphasis on High Performance Sport is balanced against investment in Sport For All at the grassroots, and how the performance of the RM240 million cycle is assessed when its term ends. Refer directly to the National Sports Policy 2009 document on the KBS website and the latest budget announcements for official figures, as allocation amounts change from cycle to cycle.

## Sources

- Dasar Sukan Negara 2009 — https://www.kbs.gov.my/component/phocadownload/category/12-personalization-sukan.html?download=57:dasar-sukan-negara-2009 (Kementerian Belia dan Sukan)
- Program Podium — Institut Sukan Negara — https://isn.gov.my/bahagian-podium/ (Institut Sukan Negara)
- Elaun bulanan atlet Program Podium ditukar kepada gaji — Hannah — https://www.nsc.gov.my/2024/01/12/elaun-bulanan-atlet-program-podium-ditukar-kepada-gaji-hannah/ (Majlis Sukan Negara Malaysia)
- Program Podium babit dana RM240 juta, untuk tempoh empat tahun — https://berita.rtm.gov.my/nasional/senarai-berita-nasional/senarai-artikel/program-podium-babit-dana-rm240-juta-untuk-tempoh-empat-tahun/ (Radio Televisyen Malaysia (RTM))
- Akta Pembangunan Sukan 1997 (Akta 576) — https://www.kbs.gov.my/akta-dasar/345-akta-576.html (Kementerian Belia dan Sukan)
- Peruntukan RM75 Juta Program Podium Berbaloi — Dr Ramlan — https://www.mstar.com.my/sukan/2015/10/23/dana-program-podium (mStar)

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