Parents should encourage children to be active in sports at young age - Khairy

Malaysian parents should encourage their children to be active in sports at a very young age, said Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin.

"Countries that are strong in sports always become champions because their athletes possess a sports culture and they come from all levels of society.

"This way, the talent pool is larger and the country will not miss out on potential talents," he said when closing the eighth Media-NSC (National Sports Council) Games here, today.

The games, which was divided into three events namely five a side football, badminton and tenpin bowling, was held in stages from Jan 23 to Jan 31.

Khairy said parents should not regard being active in sports as a waste of time because it was a healthy activity.

He hoped to turn Malaysia into a sports based country that could unite all the people regardless of race, religion and skin colour.