For Koh Lee Peng, the hardest part wasn’t selling tissue papers under the hot sun of Bukit Bintang. It wasn’t even the dramatic contrast of Pavilion Mall, Lot 10, Fahrenheit 88 – symbols of peak materialism – dawning right next to her in her torn clothes. It was the gaze from onlookers.
People questioned whether she really was a former Paralympian. She had to show her IC and put up laminated newspapers cuttings to prove her swimming achievements.
She even dared others to Google her to see that she used to be Penang’s Best Paralympic Sportswoman in 2015 and the Female Paralympian of the Year two years later.
The question remains in many of our minds: Is this really how our country’s greatest former athletes are being treated?
She wasn’t the only one. Last year, Vice produced a documentary of Malaysia’s first-ever Paralympic medallist, Mariappan Perumal. “I worked hard for this country and competed in seven Paralympics, but this is what I got,” he said, showing his shiny medals trapped in a narrow and tiny low-cost flat, supported by only a low pension, an old motorcycle, and no job.
Use and throw away
The same “use and throw away” mentality follows us today when Youth and Sports Minister Ahmad Faizal Azumu announced that 144 national athletes have been cut off by the National Sports Council (NSC).
The list included Malaysia’s first diving world champion Cheong Jun Hoong, sprinter Zaidatul Husniah Zulkifli, top squash player Low Wee Wern, 10 swimmers (with only three remaining) and 29 karate athletes’ contracts still uncertain. As it is, the existing athletes are not paid much. They were given RM2,000 in allowances previously but that has been slashed to RM800.
Worse, the cuts came without warning. To Cheong, it was “sudden” and she was “shocked” when she learned about it, forcing her into early retirement.
To Low, it felt like she was “used and then tossed away”, and she could not understand why she was not even given the courtesy of an explanation.
It is ironic because when these athletes were at their peak, we encouraged them to work harder for the country, defying odds and expectations. And some of these now abandoned athletes did just that.
Low Wee Wern
Low became the first squash player to break into the top 5 in the world without any overseas training; Cheong beat Chinese divers to clinch the very first 10m individual world title for Malaysia, Mariappan gave us two of our first Paralympic medals; Koh won seven gold medals and three silvers.
When they have made history, they made media appearances, received high-profile praises, were surrounded by flashing cameras, received monetary and in-kind incentives, and were asked for autographs. And when they are no longer delivering medals, we find the quickest way to abandon and forget them entirely.
Behind this “use and throw away” mentality is an ugly mentality of following only what is most popular. Around the same time as the funding for athletes was cut, there was an increased allocation for football.
Other than the questionable choice of putting more money into a sport where we rank 154th in the world with little changes over the years, Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob even used a far-fetched example of emulating Chelsea, his favourite team, as our blueprint for success.
What is popular
As a small and middle-income country, we ought to pay attention to sports and athletes with a proven track record of success, rather than just following what is most popular. Ethiopia invests heavily in running, resulting in 45 Olympic medals, whereas Cuba focuses on boxing which won a quarter of its summer Olympic medals.
When Britain’s public funding shifted to sports most likely to be won, rather than following just what is most popular, their medal count jumped dramatically from 36th in 1996 to the top five in the recent Olympics.
Moreover, the proper institutional backing of providing world-class training facilities, coaching, and allowances before, during, and after their professional careers are essential in building that resilience and winning attitude among our athletes.
Treating past heroes as disposable items is not only inherently unjust, it also heavily deters athletes with vast potential from donning the Malaysian jersey in the arena.
Low became the first squash player to break into the top 5 in the world without any overseas training; Cheong beat Chinese divers to clinch the very first 10m individual world title for Malaysia, Mariappan gave us two of our first Paralympic medals; Koh won seven gold medals and three silvers.
When they have made history, they made media appearances, received high-profile praises, were surrounded by flashing cameras, received monetary and in-kind incentives, and were asked for autographs. And when they are no longer delivering medals, we find the quickest way to abandon and forget them entirely.
Behind this “use and throw away” mentality is an ugly mentality of following only what is most popular. Around the same time as the funding for athletes was cut, there was an increased allocation for football.
Other than the questionable choice of putting more money into a sport where we rank 154th in the world with little changes over the years, Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob even used a far-fetched example of emulating Chelsea, his favourite team, as our blueprint for success.
What is popular
As a small and middle-income country, we ought to pay attention to sports and athletes with a proven track record of success, rather than just following what is most popular. Ethiopia invests heavily in running, resulting in 45 Olympic medals, whereas Cuba focuses on boxing which won a quarter of its summer Olympic medals.
When Britain’s public funding shifted to sports most likely to be won, rather than following just what is most popular, their medal count jumped dramatically from 36th in 1996 to the top five in the recent Olympics.
Moreover, the proper institutional backing of providing world-class training facilities, coaching, and allowances before, during, and after their professional careers are essential in building that resilience and winning attitude among our athletes.
Treating past heroes as disposable items is not only inherently unjust, it also heavily deters athletes with vast potential from donning the Malaysian jersey in the arena.
Leo Chong
Leo Chong is cursed that he is a world-class athlete in one of the least popular sports in Malaysia, judo. After the cut in funding, he now has to work as an insurance agent and part-time judo trainer to keep his dream alive.
Without a training contract, he will not have a place to train or recover his body. He could only use his friend’s private club and use ice packs for his body instead of proper physiotherapy.
Like all silver medallists, Leo already blames himself for his supposed “failure”. Knowing that the government does not care about silver and only wants gold made it worse. But in spite of all that, he still wants to try to make his country proud in the 2022 Sea Games in Vietnam.
Athletes will do all they can to make us proud, and we will do all we can to let them down.
Leo Chong is cursed that he is a world-class athlete in one of the least popular sports in Malaysia, judo. After the cut in funding, he now has to work as an insurance agent and part-time judo trainer to keep his dream alive.
Without a training contract, he will not have a place to train or recover his body. He could only use his friend’s private club and use ice packs for his body instead of proper physiotherapy.
Like all silver medallists, Leo already blames himself for his supposed “failure”. Knowing that the government does not care about silver and only wants gold made it worse. But in spite of all that, he still wants to try to make his country proud in the 2022 Sea Games in Vietnam.
Athletes will do all they can to make us proud, and we will do all we can to let them down.
JAMES CHAI is a political analyst. He also blogs at www.jameschai.com.my and he can be reached at jameschai.mpuk@gmail.com.
No comments:
Post a Comment