By Sheeda Fathil
HULU LANGAT, Dec 22 — The Ampang Jaya Municipal Council (MPAJ) plans to build several pickleball courts as the sport rapidly gains popularity among Malaysians.
Its president, Ani Ahmad, said several locations are being identified in line with the state government’s recommendation for local authorities to expand facilities for the sport.
“We acknowledge the demand from various parties for pickleball courts, as the sport is gaining popularity across all age groups.
“This sport is growing rapidly, and MPAJ fully supports efforts to promote it. We are currently reviewing suitable locations and will decide soon,” she said when met at MPAJ’s community event, held in conjunction with Children’s Day, OKU Day and Senior Citizens’ Day, here, yesterday.
Pickleball is a paddle sport that combines techniques from and elements of badminton, tennis, and table tennis.
Recognising the sport’s growing popularity, the Selangor government recently announced that it would include pickleball in the 2026 Malaysia Games (Sukma) that it will host.
Menteri Besar Dato’ Seri Amirudin Shari announced an allocation of RM1 million under the 2025 Selangor Budget to support the development of pickleball.
He also suggested that local councils convert open-air badminton courts in public parks into pickleball courts, as the former is more suited to be played indoors.
Previously, Amirudin said sports and recreational events would be a core initiative in the Visit Selangor Year 2025 calendar to attract more local and international tourists.
Meanwhile, Ani said a total of 27 community gardens under MPAJ’s administration have received agricultural aid amounting to RM40,000.
She said the aid, channeled through the State Economic Planning Unit (Upen), is part of efforts to promote more organised and systematic community gardening activities.
“MPAJ distributed the aid on behalf of Upen. A total of 23 community gardens received fertiliser sets, while another four were provided with solar panel installations.
“This initiative aims to support residents in managing community gardens under local authority supervision. The installation of solar panels will also help reduce electricity usage in maintaining these gardens,” she said.
