In what seems to be an interesting inclusion to the national budget for 2019, eSports will receive a substantial injection of funding from the government. According to the Minister of Finance, Lim Guan Eng during the tabling of Belanjawan 2019 earlier today, this is done to recognize eSports as an activity and industry that gaining popularity among the young generation.
Specifically, the amount of funding that the government has set aside for eSports development under the Belanjawan 2019 is RM 10 million. It will apparently be handed to the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) which is an interesting choice as one might expect that the funding would be channeled to the Ministry of Youth and Sports instead.
Regardless of the receiving party though, this should be seen as a major boost for the local eSports scene. Nevertheless, we hope that the scene will not be derailed by such a huge financial support from the government and would continue to work towards long-lasting stability as well as sustainability.
(Source: Ministry of Finance // Image: RTM live feed via TV3)
