The federal government has announced an allocation of RM20 million to develop the local eSports industry in 2020.
Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng said this during the tabling of the Supply Bill (Budget) 2020 in Parliament today.
In addition to the announcement, he also wished the Malaysian contingent all the best during the 2019 South-east Asian Games.
The 2019 South-east Asian Games will be the first time that esports will be contested as a medal event in a multi-sport competition sanctioned by the International Olympic Committee.
There is much talk about e-Sports development in Malaysia. In last year’s budget RM10 million was allocated to develop e-Sports but we have not seen much transpired from the money initially committed to the development of e-Sports in the country with no proper accounting to what has happened to the money and what has resulted from the investment.
While we remain hopeful about the progress of e-Sports in Malaysia, there remains little to show for in terms of developing a complete ecosystem for the cause. As e-Sports is close to the hearts of many youths in the country, a detailed and complete report on what has been done with the initial investment and will be done with the additional allocation next year would go a long way for those who are interested to pursue a career in the industry.
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[via Malay Mail]
