IPOH: The Youth and Sports Ministry has expressed gratitude for the maintained Sports Matching Grant and a 60% allocation increase for the Rakan Muda Programme in Budget 2026.
Minister Hannah Yeoh described these allocations as demonstrating the government’s commitment to national sports development and youth empowerment.
She stated that the RM580 million allocation to her ministry reflects Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s confidence in the country’s sports and youth development programmes.
“We are happy that our wish has been fulfilled when the Sports Matching Grant is maintained, the Road To Gold programme has also received an increase of two million,“ she told reporters after attending the National Sports Day 2025 Opening Ceremony.
The Road To Gold programme now receives RM12 million compared to RM10 million this year.
She highlighted that the most significant increase is the allocation for the Rakan Muda programme which has increased by RM40 million.
This year’s allocation of RM65 million for Rakan Muda compares to last year’s RM25 million.
The Prime Minister officiated the opening ceremony which was also attended by Perak Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Saarani Mohamad and Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Shamsul Azri Abu Bakar.
Anwar, who is also the Finance Minister, announced the RM580 million allocation for KBS during yesterday’s Budget 2026 presentation.
Hannah further explained that the Rakan Muda Programme allocation will implement special programmes including efforts to reduce youth unemployment.
“We have also identified many youth groups who are not fluent in English, so we will use the programme under Rakan Mahir additional allocation to complete our preparations and empower the youth,“ she said. – Bernama