Khairy: Ad was in English to attract foreigners as well

November 5, 2014

There is no problem who holds the post because the task is to boost the performance of sports in the country.

PETALING JAYA: The post of the National Sports Council (NSC) director-general is open to both locals and foreigners and hence the advertisement in English.

Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said this when responding to criticism from Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka director 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 and it would boost the performance of sports in the country.

We have to find the best individual for the job. The issue of not being a local citizen does not arise because what is important is the individuals 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.

Saying the spirit of patriotism would not be affected if the post was held by a foreign national, Khairy added that achieving professional goals and emulating the success of developed sporting nations was more important.

Its 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, that comes with a two-year contract, fell vacant when previous director-general Zolkples Embong was appointed the 2017 SEA Games chief executive officer.

The vacancy for the post was advertised in an English daily and on the ministrys official website yesterday.

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Khairy: Ad was in English to attract foreigners as well