KUALA LUMPUR: As the country celebrates Merdeka day tomorrow, Malaysian sports administrators must also seek “independence” from external influences and look to run their organisations professionally.
That is the view of sports analyst Datuk Dr Pekan Ramli when asked what his hopes for Malaysia sports are.
Pekan said Malaysian sports bodies, including national sports associations, continue to be haunted by various issues even after six decades of independence.
“Merdeka means independence from colonisers and it should be the same for sports in our country,” said Pekan when contacted today.
“Our sports should be free from problems, internal issues and also external influences which are shackling our development and preventing us from managing sports professionally.
“We have to be able to trust our sports administrators. They have to be transparent and professional.
“But even after 68 years of independence (Merdeka), this is not always the case. We still see conspiracies, cronyism and nepotism going on in Malaysian sports.
“Malaysian sports is yet to be free from these issues.”
Malaysia has produced numerous world champions and Olympic medallists over the years including Datuk Nicol David (squash), Datuk Lee Chong Wei, Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik (badminton), Azizulhasni Awang (track cycling), Pandelela Rinong, Cheong Jun Hoong (diving) many others from tenpin bowling, wushu, pencak silat, bodybuilding and tower running.
Success in Olympic sports, however, has been limited to three sports – badminton, which has contributed 11 medals in total, as well as track cycling and diving, which have contributed two medals each.
Malaysia, however, has yet to win that elusive first gold medal, a feat which neighbours Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore and the Philippines have already achieved.
“We have already spent hundreds of millions of ringgit chasing the Olympic dream but we have yet to achieve that first gold medal,” said Pekan.
“We have world class athletes, in badminton for example, but to be honest with ourselves, there are not that many in other sports.
“In many ways, we had achieved greater results in the earlier years of independence compared to now.
“We have made many improvements to our sports, however, we are still searching for success. Just look at where we stand at the Southeast Asian level.”
Pekan added that the lack of consistent funding continues to be an issue holding back Malaysian sports. The majority of NSAs are still dependent on government grants to run their programmes.
Malaysia suffered its worst-ever outing at the 2023 Phnom Penh Sea Games where the national contingent finished a lowly seventh overall on a 34 gold, 45 silver and 96 bronze haul, failing to meet their target of 40 gold.
Malaysia has, however, achieved considerable success in paralympic sports. Malaysian athletes have won eight gold medals in total at the Paralympics since Rio 2016.
National para-cyclist Nuraini Muhamad Shukri gave Malaysia the perfect gift ahead of Merdeka day yesterday (Aug 29) after becoming the first Malaysian woman to win a medal (C1 time trial bronze) at the UCI Para-cycling Road World Championships in Belgium.
© New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd
