The Forgotten Malaysian World Champion?

MM:

Reward for Malaysian shot putter Ziyad: Youth and Sports Ministry to table proposal to Cabinet, says minister

The Youth and Sports Ministry will propose to the Cabinet about a reward to national shot putter Muhammad Ziyad Zolkefli as an appreciation for his achievement at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics. — Bernama pic

PUTRAJAYA, Sept 3 — The Ministry of Youth and Sports (KBS) will propose to the Cabinet with regard to giving an appropriate reward to national shot putter Muhammad Ziyad Zolkefli as an appreciation for his achievement at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics.

Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Faizal Azumu said they never expected or even took into consideration such a disqualification when drawing up the policy of rewarding athletes who achieved success in multi-sports Games.

“It never crossed our mind that if such an incident occurred, how we would reward the athlete. This is an isolated case, a bit like the Covid-19 pandemic which, at first, no country knew what to do just like Muhammad Ziyad’s case.

“So, I wish to propose to the Cabinet the possibility of looking at this matter as it is a bit isolated and never happened before,” he told a media conference at the handing over of duty ceremony at Menara KBS here today.

***

Ziyad should not receive a sen as incentive



National paralympian Muhammad Ziyad Zolkefli can do with all the hugs he can get for his world-class shot put performance at the Tokyo Paralympics.

Some people can do with a thump of the shot put ball to the head.

Suggestions that the disqualified Ziyad be given the RM1 million gold medal winner’s incentive or “something appropriate” for smashing the world record are careless and self-centred.

Former youth and sports minister Reezal Merican Naina Merican and the Tokyo Games chef de mission Megat D Shahriman Zaharudin tactlessly led the call to reward a rule breaker.

“As a matter of principle and personal opinion, I feel it (the winner’s allowance) is proper,” Reezal said at his first press conference as the housing and local government minister. Principle?

He added: “I believe we should celebrate his achievement and it is reasonable for the government to consider (giving) the reward (to Ziyad).” Celebrate a disqualification?

That won’t wash. That rings hollow.

It’s wrong even if Ziyad broke the world and Malaysian able-bodied records.

It’s a populist call, a cynical display of political point-scoring.

Vainglorious stunts have no place in sports. Respect for the rules and discipline are paramount.

Such knee-jerk reactions cheapen the individual sacrifices made by other athletes and give root to bias and double standards.

Would Ziyad feel comfortable with the proposed financial reward? Would he feel genuinely honoured?

How would other athletes view an ill-advised reward?

Of course, we should all strive to be kind but emotions should not feature in this Ziyad fiasco. Facts should.

*********

kt notes:

That the Ministry of Youth and Sports will propose to the Cabinet a reward for Ziyad indicates the highly emotive element in this issue. Even the King and Queen have praised Ziyad's magnificent effort as the majority of Malaysians have. Indeed, there's no denying what Ziyad had accomplished, only for the feat to be foiled by the administrative problem of not fully complying with the rules of the game.

Even though Faizol Harun, Ziyad's coach has already accepted responsibility for the unnecessary but disastrous debacle, though of course he included a denial he was wrong in not following the rules, the matter has run-away and exploded into a national seriousness that the newly minted Sports Minister, none other than the deposed-former Perak MB and Master of Treachery, Azumu the kerbau-ish "tree-hugger", has exploited by setting up an internal committee of inquiry to look into Ziyad's disqualification at the Paralympics.

WTF for when the coach has accepted full responsibility for the error for the lamentable disqualification?

MM reported Azumu saying: "The committee would be chaired by former Public Service Department director-general Tan Sri Borhan Dollah and the members comprise former Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Ministry deputy secretary-general (Development) Datuk Salim Parlan and Malaysian Athletics Federation (MAF) head coach Mohd Manshahar Abdul Jalil."

And that the committee's role would determine the scope and terms of reference of the inquiry committee, the methods of gathering information, ... yadda yadda yadda .....

It's once again another of Azumu's 'Ben Hur' in the making, no doubt more for his own advancement as a new minister than for Ziyad's benefits, though this time I hope he doesn't take away any Chinese farmer's land (worked for 40+ years without any government interference) to "generously" gift away.

Be that as it may be, what with the national emotions cascading a la the recent monstrous and savage thunderstorm cum flooding at Gunung Jerai, I have no doubt Ziyad will be rewarded, notwithstanding Frankie D'Cruz's cool clinical and less emotional analysis of the Tokyo fck-up (above extract of an FMT article).

Yes, I too do support Ziyad being consoled with a reward for his magnificent accomplishment but unfortunate loss, all due to piss-poor administrative backup by his team.

Now ...

ATTENTION-ACHTUNG-WASPADA!!!

 

While we are here, may I remind everyone of the 2017 World Aquatic Championship in Budapest, Hungary.

In that FINA World Meet, Cheong Jun Hoong represented Malaysia in the 10m platform event and emerged as Malaysia's first diving WORLD champion in that event.

Jun Hoong wasn't a newbie in diving having won a number of medals in various regional meets. She partnered Pandelela Rinong at the 2016 Olympics in Rio to capture the Silver medal in the synchronised 10m platform event.

Cheong became Malaysia's FIRST ever diving World Champion, when she took home the gold medal in the World Aquatic Meet in Budapest, pipping her closest rival by 1.5 points. Wiki said four of the seven judges gave a perfect 10 on her best dive in the competition.

I suspect Tokyo would be her last Olympics as she has a back injury, suffered way before the Games. Sad that she didn't win anything in Japan though it was expected because of her injury.

I wonder whether she was feted and rewarded for becoming Malaysia's FIRST ever diving World Champion in 2017, a World event supposedly surpassing the standards of the Olympics.

Hmmm?