A feasible plan, proper facilities and well-carried out implementation the right way to success.

It is a good aim for the Education Ministry of Malaysia to give ten percent points for involvement in sports for entry to public universities in order to get students to be more active physically and be healthier.

However, before such a measure is implemented, to be fair to all the students in our schools, the authorities concerned must ensure that there is sufficient space and equipment in their schools to cater for everyone who wishes to take part in the sports they have an interest in. And it has to be available in all Malaysian schools, regardless of the type. Otherwise, it can be pointed out that the authorities have not been fair to the students who either does not have the space or the equipment to fulfill such a requirement and so have already lost ten percent of the points required for entry into university. How in the world can any sane person expect students to take part in something where space or equipment is not available to them

Well, let me tell you my experience as a student in one of the biggest school in Malaya at that time, the Penang Free School. We had a big hall where six badminton games can be on at the same time. I am just talking about my house sports practice, with each house having its practice one particular day a week. I was interested in the game as I was fast, agile and with lots of stamina. So, I was eager to learn some skills and look forward to being a good if not end up as one promising state player. My hopes were high but there were hundred of members in each house and being an unknown at form one level in 1959, I waited for my turn in vain. In the end I started playing badminton only when I entered teacher training. With so many courts in my school, I still did not stand a chance of using my badminton racket because of the number of students waiting for their turn. How many schools have six badminton courts today? Where is the chance that every interested student would have the opportunity to play the sport? Would it be fair to deduct ten percent points from their application when that ten percent was never available to them?

Of course, with my stamila, I eventually entered the sports very few people can excel in, the cross-country and rugby. Entry into the school cross-country team is open to anyone who have the stamina to run at a certain speed for a good number of miles or kilometres, a stamina which very few have. It is not merely stamina. The runner have to use mind-over-matter power to overcome the extreme strain that comes at certain points of the run. I once had to tell myself to run on just to the next tree and then the next in order to push on to the end. In rugby, courage and strength are needed in the face of the rough and tough guys you face. However, there is one game I fear and that is hockey. I have seen a guy bashed with a swipe from a hockey stick. Although i have played hockey during my training as a physical education teacher, I do not ask for a chance to play it. In this game, I just lost my guts. Afraid or not, there must still be enough trainers or supervisors, ample space available, sufficient facilities given and the opportunity to participate. Are all school in the position to supply everything necessary? If not, where is the fairness to the students?

So, before implementing anything the authorities must make sure they are fair to every individual student, ensuring that every sport with sufficient appropriate space and equipment for every student.

Let it not be said that we expected people to eat without making available the food or the essential utensils, we expect people to dance without the music or the dance floor or we expected people to achieve without making available the opportunity to do so. Authorities must be prepared with a feasible plan, ready all the facilities before any implementation can be carried out. Unless all these are carried out, we have half-baked authorities who have not done their work well.