International Women's Day: Hannah Yeoh on youth development, one sport at a time

When asked for a glimpse into her daily life now, Yeoh mentions that while it’s hectic, she’s enjoying the role, as no two days are the same. “Say today I’m thinking about breakdance, then tomorrow it’s tower runners, the next day is the Paralympic council; [the list goes] on,” she says.

This time however, the stakeholders she deals with are vastly different from that of her previous ministry, which she admits is slightly less taxing on her emotional wellbeing. “In my 22 months under Women, Family and Community Development, I dealt with women groups, children’s groups and relevant NGOs, and the subject matter was vastly different. Things could get very heavy, and I constantly felt like there was a big load on my shoulders, as I dealt with abuse cases and fought for the rights of women and children,” says the former practising lawyer.

“Currently, I deal with sports associations and more men in general, and the topics are different from the previous ministry. Now, I’m building up to the SEA Games, Olympic Games and such. The subject matter is lighter, and the nature of sports itself emphasises on having a good time and staying fit,” Yeoh adds.

That doesn’t mean she’s any less busy however, disclosing that she sometimes appreciates being stuck in traffic jams, as it gives her a bit of downtime before her next engagement.

“It hasn’t been long since I’ve held office, but we have covered four states so far, which are Sabah, Sarawak, Kelantan and Johor, and have already held five townhalls, two for athletes, plus one each for Paralympics, sports associations and sports industry players (like gym operators),” Yeoh says of what her ministry has been up to these past two months.

These townhalls give an avenue for stakeholders to share their thoughts on how to better conditions and tackle issues affecting the athletes and sports associations. These include more funding, more competitions to measure their rankings, better allowances, training facilities, less tedious procedures, and more support from the ministry itself.

“We are still at the listening stage, there’s still many stakeholders to address, and I’m also trying to build and develop the team within the youth and sports ministry. We even have a weekly exercise session, where we work out together, to not only stay healthy but also to appreciate and understand the athletes whose welfare falls under our jurisdiction,” says Yeoh.

“Most of them lack financial support, so there needs to be more tax incentives focused towards sports by the government. At the moment, all international tournaments that are held in Malaysia are recorded as a tourism event, instead of being captured as a sports income. I want that to change, so it’s correctly reflected in our books the value that sports bring into the nation—which will hopefully be channelled back to the industry,” she tells of one of her steps to build up the local scene.

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