Malaysian Govt Allocates Over $3.6M for Esports Development in 2021 Budget

The Malaysian government has allocated over US$3.6 million for the development of the local esports industry, as part of its 2021 Budget.

This is the third year that the Malaysian government allocating a dedicated budget for the country’s esports industry, with the practice starting in 2019 with an initial US$2.4 million allocation. However, the newly-announced esports budget for next year is less than this year’s allocation of over US$4.8 million.

Tengku Zafrul Tengku Aziz, Finance Minister of Malaysia, revealed that the budget allocation for esports is part of a greater over US$13.3 million allocation towards the development of the country’s sports scene, including female athletes as well as other less prominent sports, such as hockey, rugby, badminton and cycling.

While the cause for the reduction of Malaysia’s esports budget next year remains unclear, it is known that the funds will be the responsibility of the country’s Ministry of Youth and Sports, as it has been for the last two years.