Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said this when responding to criticism from Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka director, Datuk Awang Sariyan for publishing the advertisement in an English daily, today.
He also stressed that there would be no problem if a foreign national held the post because the task was professional in nature, that of to boost the performance of sports in the country.
“No problem..because we find the best individual for the job, the issue of not being a local citizen does not arise because what is important is the individual’s commitment towards boosting national sports,” he told reporters after delivering a Ministerial Luncheon Keynote Address at the ‘2014 Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi Human Capital Summit’ here, today.
Khairy also said the spirit of patriotism would not be affected if the post was held by a foreign national, but to look, instead, to professional goals and emulate the success of developed sporting nations.
“It’s not about patriotism, many football coaches who are behind teams that become world champions are from other countries. Coaches and policymakers abroad too are not from their own countries,” he said.
The post of NSC director-general fell vacant when previous director-general Datuk Seri Zolkples Embong was appointed the 2017 SEA Games Chief Executive officer and the vacancy for the post was advertised in an English daily and on the ministry’s official website from yesterday.
The post was being offered on a two-year contract basis.
Meanwhile, in his address, Khairy said 80 per cent of Institut Kemahiran Belia Negara graduates have been employed despite some parents being skeptical.
He said in efforts to churn out more skilled workers, the move to empower all skill institutes nationwide, was a priority for the ministry to help the nation achieve a target of 50 per cent skilled manpower by 2020.
— BERNAMA
