In June this year, the Youth and Sports Ministry, through the Electronic Sports Development Strategic Plan 2020 to 2025, proposed the development of e sports in schools but has since faced some stiff opposition.

The plan of the ministry, which has run into a snag, involves listing the sport as part of Extra Co Curricular Activity (ECA) and further to that to establish the formation of e sports clubs in schools all over the country.

The Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) has come out strongly against the ministry’s proposal and claim that introducing e-sports in schools would impact the health of participants in negative ways.

They say that while the potential to develop e sports in Malaysia is promising, it is inappropriate to introduce it in schools as it has addictive effects and it can lead to social, emotional and psychological problems.

However, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia’s Faculty of Education Sports and Recreational Science begs to differ and states that e sports promotes skills such as teamwork, critical thinking and problem solving.

They say that in e sports, there are different categories of games such as sport, fighting, real time strategy with single player and team events which require students’ discipline and time management.

-THE MALAYSIA VOICE