Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim expressed his hope that Malaysia’s long wait for a gold medal will finally end at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
Speaking at the groundbreaking ceremony for the new Olympic House in Bukit Jalil today, Anwar affirmed the government’s strong support for sports, highlighting the efforts of Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh and Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) president Norza Zakaria.
“I think the government, through the Ministry of Youth and Sports, has been very proactive, very supportive. You have a good minister who has been harassing me for more money, more funds,” he said.
Anwar humorously added a challenge to the sports leaders, stating, “Under Hannah and now with Norza, we expect one gold medal at least from the Olympics. Otherwise, they’ll be in trouble.” He then used a personal anecdote to emphasize the importance of sportsmanship.
“I always tell my grandchildren, who sometimes get very upset when they lose in chess or football, that’s not the spirit. The spirit, of course, is to win. But sportsmanship is such a value-laden term. You try your best, you try to excel, but you accept it in a sportsmanship fashion.”
Last year, the Malaysian contingent returned from the Paris Olympics without a gold medal, despite a significant allocation of RM13.283 million through the Road to Gold (RTG) program since 2023.
Since its first participation in the 1956 Melbourne Games, Malaysia has won a total of 13 Olympic medals: eight silver and five bronze. Of these, badminton has been the most successful sport, contributing six silver and three bronze medals. Cycling and diving have each won one silver and one bronze.
Malaysia’s best-ever Olympic performance was at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games, where the team secured four silver medals and one bronze.
