Speaking during the launch of a Yayasan Kebajikan Atlet Kebangsaan (Yakeb) programme on sports coaching today, Rosmah, who is patron of the organisation, added that she is usually made the patron or president of an organisation in order to help it secure funds.

“I feel Yakeb also elected me as a patron to help them get funds.

“You can ask Khairy, I don’t have a budget,” she added, referring to Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin.

“If I did have a budget, the opposition would come and stick their noses in and ask how come Rosmah has a budget. They don’t know that people ask me for all sorts of things.”

Rosmah said she would usually re-direct assistance for programmes which require a large budget to her husband, Prime Minister Najib Razak.

This was the case with the Yakeb foundation, for which Najib had granted RM3 million, she added.

According to Yakeb acting chairman Mohd Azlan Iskandar, most of the money is used to settle the hospital bills of former athletes.

“Most of the former athletes come seeking assistance to pay off their hospital bills for cases such as diabetes and other ailments,” he said during the press conference.

He added that the athletes were fortunate to have a foundation like Yakeb.

The coaching programme, which runs from Nov 2 to 5, will see the participation of 80 former athletes.

Once they receive their certificates from the course, they will be able to obtain official licences from the National Sports Institute (ISN) to become coaches in their respective fields.

Rosmah said she was proud that such a programme was being held for the former athletes.

She added that the course would ensure that the coaches were well-versed in sports sciences, which would help improve the country’s performance in sports.

Subjects offered under the programme include sports philosophy, coaching competency, anatomy and physiology.

The event today was also attended by Khairy and ISN chairman Abdul Azim Mohd Zabidi.