Malaysia’s e-sports athletes have what it takes to succeed on an international scale, said Chai.
PETALING JAYA: A well-developed, educated and trained generation of youths is imperative for the advancement of a nation and these are the elements the government aims to facilitate in Budget 2022.
Various initiatives have been lined up for youths, which make up about 40% of the country’s population of 32.7 million.
Among such efforts are incentives for employers, who take in apprentices such as school-leavers and graduates aged 18 to 30 at a monthly rate of RM900 for six months.
In line with its efforts, the government is also urging the private sector to pay a monthly allowance of at least RM900 to students undergoing industry training programmes.
There is also the RM4.8bil JaminKerja initiative, which guarantees 600,000 job opportunities and 80,000 contracts under the Malaysia Short-term Employment Programme (MyStep) to provide job opportunities for school-leavers and university graduates in the public sector and in government-linked companies.
Malaysia’s e-sports athletes have what it takes to succeed on an international scale, said Chai.
Encouraging improvement
Malaysian Employers Federation president Datuk Dr Syed Hussain Syed Husman said the initiatives lined up in Budget 2022 would alleviate the unemployment situation, especially youth unemployment, which has risen 12% from 2019 to 314,000 persons in 2020.
He also applauded the tax reliefs of RM2,000 for expenses in reskilling and upskilling courses, as well as RM7,000 for course fees with approved professional bodies.
These efforts would encourage employees, especially youths, to constantly upgrade their skills and knowledge, he said.
The government is also aiming to encourage entrepreneurship among youths, with assistance of RM150mil for youths venturing into entrepreneurship, which will be fulfilled by Bank Simpanan Nasional and Agrobank.
Finance Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz previously said Malaysians need to start looking at entrepreneurship as a viable job creator.
Keeping up with the times
Meanwhile, in keeping with the times, Putrajaya is also showing its recognition of the prospects of e-sports, in line with its rising prominence among the youth and Malaysia’s exceptional performance on the international stage.
An allocation of RM20mil has been provided under Budget 2022 for the development of national e-sports, including RM5mil to create a Drone Sports Centre-of-Excellence.
There is also a proposal to allow an income tax exemption on recognised e-sports tournament prize money.
Chai Yee Fung, known in the professional gaming scene as “Mushi”, said the government’s support towards the development of e-sports in Malaysia is definitely a good start.
“It’s really not easy to get into the top tier of competitive gaming, so any kind of assistance and support is definitely appreciated.
“I hope to see continued investment in this space and genuine understanding of the type of support that e-sports athletes need the most in order to succeed,” said the 31-year-old, who is now a coach for Indonesia-based Boom Esports.
When the number of professional players in Malaysia grows, there will be more clubs that would invest in Malaysia, which could also generate more employment, he added.
“Malaysian e-sports athletes are extremely talented and have shown their ability to think outside the box and bring fresh perspectives to the games they play.
“As a multilingual nation, we are also quite unique in terms of being able to succeed on an international level. We have players based in both Western and Eastern teams and this exposure has enriched the Malaysian e-sports landscape as a whole,” he told The Star.
Chai, highly regarded as the best mid-lane player in the earlier days of Dota 2, is one of the highest earning gamers in Malaysia, with total winnings of about US$1mil (RM4.18mil) as a player.
“For those who aspire to become professional gamers, the amount of time, effort and energy required to train and improve yourself until you’re playing at a world standard is really no different from any other sport or any other profession.
“I think many still don’t realise how much commitment, dedication and hard work these athletes show and the sacrifices they have to make in order to be the best at what they do,” he said.
The dominance of Malaysian e-sports athletes on the global stage has been on the rise. Just last month, Malaysian eSports athlete Cheng Jin Xiang or “NothingToSay”, who is only 21, was part of China-based team PSG.LGD which won second place, netting US$5,202,400 (RM21.7mil) in prize money at The International 10 (TI10) in Romania.
