Youth and sports minister Hannah Yeoh has advised the Paralympic and Olympic councils to ensure sponsors promising rewards for athletes sign contracts.
She said this was what the ministry’s Road to Gold (RTG) committee had done to prevent a situation such as that currently faced by Paralympic gold medallist Cheah Liek Hou, Bernama reported.
“During the Paris Olympic Games, many companies offered RM1 million and various rewards if our athletes won a gold medal at the prestigious Games.
“What RTG did was to get all these sponsors to sign contracts. I now see a need for the Olympic Council of Malaysia and the Paralympic Council of Malaysia to follow the same approach if they have not already done so,” she was quoted as saying.
Liek Hou won gold in the SU5 (physical impairment) men’s singles badminton event in Tokyo 2020, and defended his title at the Paris Games last year.
Last week, he took to Instagram to voice his frustration that gold medallists were still waiting for a RM60,000 cash reward promised by the Paralympic council more than a year after the Games.
The council’s president, Megat D Shahriman Zaharudin, questioned where the RM60,000 figure came from. He said three companies had initially pledged support for medal winners, and the council has now received RM88,000 from one sponsor to be distributed to the athletes.
However, Bernama had quoted him as saying in August 2024 that gold medallists in the Paris Paralympics would each get a RM60,000 cash incentive, pledged by three companies.
Yesterday, Megat said the council would consider taking legal action against Liek Hou over his statements on social media.
Yeoh said Liek Hou’s case was blown out of proportion when the athlete should not have been treated as though he had committed a disciplinary offence.
He was merely demanding what he had been promised, she added.
“To me, this matter is simple. We don’t need a middleman. If a promise is made, it must be kept. If it cannot be fulfilled, then state the reasons and improve from there. There is no need to go as far as banning the athlete,” she said.
She said it was time for the Paralympic council to improve its governance and that her ministry will not back any disciplinary action against Liek Hou.
