Committee of Supply 2024 debate, Day 6: Syed Harun Alhabsyi on inclusivity through sports and youths

Few things rally people, the community and a nation more than a celebration of our fellow countrymen's great success in sports, said NMP Syed Harun Alhabsyi in Parliament on Wednesday (Mar 6). Highlighting the achievements of sprinter Shanti Pereira and swimmer Joseph Schooling, he urged the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY) to look closely and more strongly at sports as a means to rally and bring people closer together. In particular, Dr Harun expressed hope that MCCY will continue to focus and invest in sport and sporting excellence as a country and do more for athletes. He also stated that more needs to be done for team sports, and hoped that MCCY will narrate the value of sports better for ordinary Singaporeans, as well as make it easy for people to participate in them en masse. He also urged the ministry to continue to harness the potential of Singapore's youths and to study the reach of its youth programmes further to ensure breadth of participation.