(Top) ASEAN Sports Ministers
and officials join hands during
a group photo session at the
1st ASEAN Ministerial Meeting
on Sports (AMMS) in
Yogyakarta, Indonesia, on
Wednesday. (Above) Minister
of Culture, Youth and Sports
Pehin Orang Kaya Pekerma
Laila Diraja Dato Seri Setia Hj
Hazair Hj Abdullah (L) at the
meeting. Pictures: KKBS

A New milestone was reached after the 1st ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on Sports (AMMS) was held on Wednesday in Yogyakarta, Indonesia.

The meeting, which was chaired by Dr Andi A Mallarangeng the Indonesian State Minister of Youth and Sports, was attended by Ministers and Senior Officials from the Sports or Sports-related Ministries of all 10 ASEAN member states.

The Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports Pehin Orang Kaya Pekerma Laila Diraja Dato Seri Setia Hj Hazair Hj Abdullah attended the meeting for Brunei.

Pehin Dato Hj Hazair in his speech touched on sports-for-all, high performance sports as well as sports industry and sports tourism.

The AMMS produced 11 agreements including the feasibility of expanding the coverage of ASEAN sports events to include other sports initiatives besides the ASEAN Basketball League (ABL) such as hosting the ASEAN football league and ASEAN volleyball league.

Others include having the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) undertake the necessary studies and actions to prepare for the ASEAN bid for the possible hosting of the FIFA World Cup in 2030 and also to mark 2013 as the ASEAN Sports Industry Year.

The idea to form AMMS emerged during the 17th ASEAN Summit in May in Jakarta, where leaders from all member countries agreed to establish an ASEAN Sectoral Body on Sports.

ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

The next AMMS is scheduled to be held in Vientiane in 2013.

History was also made when the Ministers attended the opening of the 6th ASEAN Para Games in Solo, Indonesia, last night.

It was the first time that all Sports Ministers from the ASEAN countries attended the opening of the Games, which ends on Dec 22.

ASEAN Para Sports Federation (APSF) hopes that the presence of all the Sports Ministers will help the Games move forward and elevate the status of paralympic sports in the region.

Courtesy from Brunei Times