1.2 Billion Watched Thomas Cup, Says Ahmad Shabery

KUALA LUMPUR, June 17 (Bernama) -- About 1.2 billion viewers worldwide watched the 2010 Thomas Cup badminton finals in Bukit Jalil near here last month, Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Ahmad Shabery Cheek said Thursday.

As such, although the national team lost on home turf, the event had given wide publicity to Malaysia for its success in hosting the championship.

"We have indirectly shown the true situation in the country to the foreign community. I was told that 1.2 billion viewers throughout the world watched the Thomas Cup finals and this is huge publicity," he said in reply to Datuk Mohamad Aziz (BN-Sri Gading) in the Dewan Rakyat.

To a question from Datuk Wan Abd Rahim Wan Abdullah (Pas-Kota Baharu), Ahmad Shabery said the govenment spent RM1 million on the National Youth Day celebration in Putrajaya recently.

He denied that the ministry did not invite the youth from opposition states Kelantan, Kedah, Penang and Selangor, saying that open invitations were made through the media.

However, invitations to over 7,000 registered youth associations were made through the state Youth and Sports departments, the Malaysian Youth Council and the state and district youth councils, he said in reply to Datuk Kamaruddin Jaafar (Pas-Tumpat).

Source from BERNAMA

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