FMT:
RM170 for glory: Hockey legend breaks silence on decades-old betrayal
Yesterday
Frankie D'Cruz
Paraded as sportsman of the year in 1972, M Mahendran got only a pittance of his RM5,000 prize
M Mahendran holding his sportsman of the year award in 1972. With him is the top woman athlete that year, sprinter Junaidah Aman. (Code Computer Design pic)
PETALING JAYA: In 1972, hockey forward M Mahendran stood tall as Malaysia’s sportsman of the year — feted, photographed, and promised RM5,000.
Yesterday, he broke his silence. What he actually received was just RM170.
The rest, he says, was taken by the then Malaysian Hockey Federation (MHF).
According to him, RM2,000 went to a non-sporting “heroes fund”, while the balance was supposedly set aside for his 18 national teammates.
None ever saw a cent.
“For glory, all I got was RM170,” said Mahendran. “Isn’t that absurd? We were celebrated one day and forgotten the next.”
Mahendran remains the only hockey player ever to become sportsman of the year since inception of the sports awards in 1966.
The 77-year-old said he never questioned the matter in his playing days, when athletes were expected to follow orders without protest.
Even later, he stayed silent to avoid “stirring trouble”.
His revelation came on the heels of an FMT exposé revealing how at least 10 sporting greats — nine from athletics — were also denied their promised RM5,000 prizes.
That story has now blown open a wider controversy spanning major sports.
More voices join in
Yesterday, bowling icon JB Koo, the 1980 sportsman of the year, claimed his entire RM5,000 was withheld by the Malaysian Tenpin Bowling Congress (MTBC).
A day earlier, cyclist Ng Joo Ngan, the 1970 award winner, said he received only RM500. The Malaysian National Cycling Federation (MNCF), he alleged, kept the rest.
Badminton legend Sylvia Ng, twice crowned sportswoman of the year, also revealed she never received her RM5,000.
She added that she was never warned by the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) that accepting the cash might jeopardise her amateur status.
“Since we didn’t get it, where did the money go?” she asked.
BAM secretary Kenny Goh and MTBC secretary-general Maradona Chok said the issue pre-dated them but pledged to investigate swiftly.
Both agreed that institutions must shoulder responsibility for debts of honour, no matter how old.
Questions sent by FMT to Malaysian Hockey Confederation president Subahan Kamal, MNCF chief Amarjit Singh, and Malaysia Athletics secretary-general Nurhayati Karim remain unanswered.
The government, which bankrolls the awards through the national sports council, has also maintained silence.
The forgotten champions
At the heart of the saga lie the giants of Malaysian athletics — the athletes who defined an era.
Dr Mani Jegathesan, once Asia’s fastest man, became Malaysia’s first sportsman of the year in 1966. That same year, Olympian M Rajamani was named the inaugural sportswoman.
Their successors formed a dazzling roll call: sprinter Junaidah Aman (1971, 1972), high jumper Gladys Chai (1973), race walker Khoo Chong Beng (1975), “golden girl” Marina Chin (1976, 1977), walking ace V Subramaniam (1978), dash king Rabuan Pit (1980, 1982), and all-rounder Zaiton Othman (1982).
Every one of them was promised RM5,000. Not one received it.
The Malaysian Amateur Athletics Union told them the money would be released only upon retirement, to preserve their amateur status. Decades later, nothing has arrived.
For the athletes, now in their twilight years, the fight is not for wealth.
“It is about recognition, dignity, and trust,” said Mahendran.
Rajamani put it bluntly: “Medals tarnish with time, but broken promises sting forever.”
Mahendran’s RM170 has now become a powerful symbol of that betrayal — a reminder that promises made to Malaysia’s sporting heroes remain unfulfilled.
“Until the truth is faced,” he said, “Malaysia risks forgetting those who once carried its flag highest.”
Yesterday, he broke his silence. What he actually received was just RM170.
The rest, he says, was taken by the then Malaysian Hockey Federation (MHF).
According to him, RM2,000 went to a non-sporting “heroes fund”, while the balance was supposedly set aside for his 18 national teammates.
None ever saw a cent.
“For glory, all I got was RM170,” said Mahendran. “Isn’t that absurd? We were celebrated one day and forgotten the next.”
Mahendran remains the only hockey player ever to become sportsman of the year since inception of the sports awards in 1966.
The 77-year-old said he never questioned the matter in his playing days, when athletes were expected to follow orders without protest.
Even later, he stayed silent to avoid “stirring trouble”.
His revelation came on the heels of an FMT exposé revealing how at least 10 sporting greats — nine from athletics — were also denied their promised RM5,000 prizes.
That story has now blown open a wider controversy spanning major sports.
More voices join in
Yesterday, bowling icon JB Koo, the 1980 sportsman of the year, claimed his entire RM5,000 was withheld by the Malaysian Tenpin Bowling Congress (MTBC).
A day earlier, cyclist Ng Joo Ngan, the 1970 award winner, said he received only RM500. The Malaysian National Cycling Federation (MNCF), he alleged, kept the rest.
Badminton legend Sylvia Ng, twice crowned sportswoman of the year, also revealed she never received her RM5,000.
She added that she was never warned by the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) that accepting the cash might jeopardise her amateur status.
“Since we didn’t get it, where did the money go?” she asked.
BAM secretary Kenny Goh and MTBC secretary-general Maradona Chok said the issue pre-dated them but pledged to investigate swiftly.
Both agreed that institutions must shoulder responsibility for debts of honour, no matter how old.
Questions sent by FMT to Malaysian Hockey Confederation president Subahan Kamal, MNCF chief Amarjit Singh, and Malaysia Athletics secretary-general Nurhayati Karim remain unanswered.
The government, which bankrolls the awards through the national sports council, has also maintained silence.
The forgotten champions
At the heart of the saga lie the giants of Malaysian athletics — the athletes who defined an era.
Dr Mani Jegathesan, once Asia’s fastest man, became Malaysia’s first sportsman of the year in 1966. That same year, Olympian M Rajamani was named the inaugural sportswoman.
Their successors formed a dazzling roll call: sprinter Junaidah Aman (1971, 1972), high jumper Gladys Chai (1973), race walker Khoo Chong Beng (1975), “golden girl” Marina Chin (1976, 1977), walking ace V Subramaniam (1978), dash king Rabuan Pit (1980, 1982), and all-rounder Zaiton Othman (1982).
Every one of them was promised RM5,000. Not one received it.
The Malaysian Amateur Athletics Union told them the money would be released only upon retirement, to preserve their amateur status. Decades later, nothing has arrived.
For the athletes, now in their twilight years, the fight is not for wealth.
“It is about recognition, dignity, and trust,” said Mahendran.
Rajamani put it bluntly: “Medals tarnish with time, but broken promises sting forever.”
Mahendran’s RM170 has now become a powerful symbol of that betrayal — a reminder that promises made to Malaysia’s sporting heroes remain unfulfilled.
“Until the truth is faced,” he said, “Malaysia risks forgetting those who once carried its flag highest.”
***
Disgusting and shameful
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