Youth and Sports Ministry is ready to expand the FitMalaysia programme to small towns and rural areas.

Its Minister, Khairy Jamaluddin said this would give the opportunity for those living outside the city to participate in the FitMalaysia movement.

This is also in line with the national goal of making Malaysia a sports country, which according to Khairy, can be achieved within the next five to ten years.

Khairy Jamaluddin
Khairy Jamaluddin is glad more Malaysians are active in sports. -BERNAMA photo


“We need to start this from the grassroots level, including among schoolchildren. We need to achieve the one student one sport initiative under the Ministry of Education.

“Therefore FitMalaysia should be done not only in the big cities but also in rural areas and small towns. It is not possible to cultivate a sporting culture within one to two years. This requires a period of time,” Khairy told Astro AWANI during the FitMalaysia programme held at Johor Bahru, Saturday.


Khairy Jamaluddin
Khairy Jamaluddin with the Astro AWANI team at the FitMalaysia programme in Johor Bahru. -Astro AWANI/Marlina Manaf


Khairy is also happy as the programme has been well-recieved by the public.

“Whereever we’ve gone to, it has been well received. It shows Malaysians are increasingly active in sports and we can achieve our goal of making Malaysia a sporting nation,” he said.