The youth and sports ministry has agreed to act on the issue of outstanding incentive payments to national athletes since the 1960s.
In a statement today, the ministry said it will assist in resolving the issue of unpaid incentive payments to several recipients of the Sportsman and Sportswoman of the Year awards since 1966, Bernama reported.
It added that it took the issue of the unsettled incentive payments seriously.
The ministry explained that it only took over and began organising the National Sports Awards through the National Sports Council in 1984.
“There has been no issue of unpaid incentive payments to award recipients since then.
“The ministry will help find a solution by holding discussions with the relevant sports associations overseeing athletes from their respective sports,” the statement said.
The ministry also commended the Malaysian National Cycling Federation (MNCF) for taking responsibility in paying the outstanding incentive to one of its athletes who received the 1970 National Sportsman Award.
It also welcomed the move by Malaysia Athletics to establish a special task force to investigate and determine the actual amount of outstanding incentives.
“KBS believes this proactive step will be able to resolve the issue promptly and ensure that respect for athletes is always upheld,” it said.
Yesterday, it was reported that cycling icon Ng Joo Ngan will finally receive the full RM5,000 prize promised to him in 1970 when he was named Malaysia’s sportsman of the year.
He was given only RM500 initially and the balance was said to have been diverted to MNCF and there was nothing done about it for 55 years.
MNCF president Amarjit Singh Gill told FMT this was about treating our past athletes with dignity to inspire future athletes to give their all for the country.
Among the other sportsman and sportswoman of the year to have been denied the cash rewards that came with the award were hockey legend M Mahendran, who revealed he received just RM170 of his RM5,000 prize.
Others include bowling great JB Koo, badminton icon Sylvia Ng and nine athletics icons. They all told FMT they had not received a single sen from the award prize money.
