PUTRAJAYA, Feb 28 — The Ministry of Youth and Sports (KBS) aims to reduce bureaucracy and simplify matters, especially for organisers in managing sports events and programmes under KBS Open Day.

Its minister Hannah Yeoh said the move on organising KBS Open Day was in response to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s call for all government agencies to reduce bureaucracy and simplify matters for the people.

According to her, the open day is also in line with her hope that KBS continues to be known as a customer-friendly ministry since its target group is people who are active in sports.

"Sports organisers need to get approval and the public wants to see if the programme or event has permission or not. So when the time taken to apply for the permit is long, time is wasted and the opportunity is lost.

"For example, if in a year we want to wait for permission every three months to get one permission, so that means in a year we can only do four programmes, but if we simplify the organisation of sports we can multiply the approvals issued because the process is faster,” she said.

She said this at the KBS Open Day press conference at Menara KBS, Putrajaya today.

Hannah hopes that with the open day, all sports associations, clubs and youth associations will have no excuse not to organise sports events and programmes, besides wanting them to organise grassroots programme at least once a year.

At the same time, Hannah said her ministry would invite the Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM) and some local authorities (PBT) to participate in the next KBS Open Day which may be organised outside such as at a shopping centre.

A total of 14 service counters consisting of departments and agencies under KBS as well as several other ministry agencies involved in the approval of the organisation of sports events were opened here with the open day held from 9 am to 1 pm.

After this, the KBS Open Day will be held on the first Friday of every month with the objective of providing the best service to the public and speeding up the approval process in order to boost the organisation of sports thus expanding the economy in the sports sector. — Bernama