Jefri's Lens: From Small Menu To Big Dreams, Philosophy Of Marginal Gains Instilled In MSN

The first series of a special report titled 'Jefri's Lens' reveals how National Sports Council director-general Jefri Ngadirin is trying to implement the philosophy popularised by former Great Britain cycling squad performance director Sir Dave Brailsford, namely 'marginal gains', in an effort to improve the performance of athletes and national sports.

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 26 (Bernama) -- Imagine an athlete sleeping on a softer mattress, waking up in a room with perfect lighting, enjoying a more balanced breakfast before entering the competition with a refreshed body.

These small changes, when combined, transformed the Great Britain team into the dominant force in cycling on the world stage.

The architect behind the transformation was Sir Dave Brailsford, the former performance director of the Great Britain cycling squad who introduced the philosophy of 'marginal gains', which is an improvement of as little as one per cent in each action.

Before Brailsford's arrival in 2003, the Great Britain cycling squad was not a giant in the sport.

However, the 61-year-old's philosophy has had a huge impact, helping his country win eight gold medals at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and 2012 London Olympics.

Now, more than 10,000 kilometres away, National Sports Council (MSN) director-general Jefri Ngadirin is trying to adapt Brailsford's legacy of success in Malaysia.

Jefri said the success of the country's athletes is not just the result of millions of ringgit or a bold strategic plan, but also depends on everyday details including changing the food menu at the MSN cafe every two weeks.

He said the idea, which may sound trivial, came about during a 'townhall' session with athletes and coaches after he was appointed to lead the MSN in April.

"The change in the food menu received positive feedback from the athletes. They were happier to be able to have a change in flavour and so on.

"Previously, the food menu was changed every two months, so athletes got bored but now we are trying to diversify it. For example, they used to eat nasi lemak for two months, now they have the variety of  western, Indian, Chinese food and so on,” he said in an exclusive interview with Bernama.

Not stopping at food, MSN also introduced weekly activities that were more athlete-friendly such as karaoke nights and barbecues on weekends.

Jefri said the move would not only help athletes increase motivation but also allow them to have a more enjoyable and positive experience living at MSN, whether in Bukit Jalil, Kampung Pandan or Nilai.

“The athletes really seem happy and there are no more complaints. This is because when athletes are in the dormitory they feel bored, so we want to make sure they belong to the training environment and can release tension,” he said.

Apart from athletes, Jefri said attention was also given to coaches by providing educational opportunities at the certification level as well as temporary placement programmes abroad to deepen the latest coaching knowledge.

He said, MSN also collaborated with the National Coaching Academy and the National Sports Institute by conducting coach competency assessments through programmes conducted starting last month and October to detect their weaknesses.

The philosophy of 'marginal gains', he said, was also expanded to the national sports association level through systematic improvements including the core sports 'scorecard'.

He said the introduction of the 'scorecard' was to ensure that the sports associations involved were responsible for the main achievement indexes set such as increasing women's participation, strengthening governance and producing more elite athletes from that group.

Realising the current shortage of elite female athletes in the country, Jefri said MSN had approved an allocation of RM200,000 to states and schools to identify talent from this group starting last month and October.

In an effort to produce more high-potential athletes in the future, he said MSN is also implementing an Olympic Games development programme at the state level involving eight types of sports, including taekwondo and weightlifting.

Jefri said the programme also began to bear fruits when two young athletes successfully won medals at the 2025 Asian Junior, Cadet and Para Taekwondo Championships in Kuching, in July.

At the same time, Jefri said MSN also continues to work closely with ISN and local universities to take advantage of sports science, data technology and high-tech equipment.

He said that studies conducted by ISN and discussions with local universities help MSN apply sports technology, including for cycling and swimming in programmes run by them, thus ensuring that athlete performance can be improved.

Not only that, Jefri also focuses on the development aspects of his men at MSN to be equipped with knowledge, skills and management, especially for high-performance sports, to keep pace with current sports developments.

Therefore, if the philosophy of 'marginal gains' is able to change the landscape of cycling in Great Britain, it is not impossible that every small detail that Jefri has polished and brought today will sow glory for Malaysia tomorrow.

-- BERNAMA