'Kalau sejak dulu lagi persatuan memainkan peranan mereka, situasi seperti hari ini boleh dielakkan sebenarnya'

1. When national hurdler Rayzam Shah Wan Sofian was quoted by Utusan Malaysia regarding the reduction in his allowance from RM2,000 (for gold medalist) to RM800 (for bronze medalist), I immediately reached out to him. He confirmed having said all that and stood by what he said. He also shared other details.

2.  Olympians, athletes, former Youth and Sports minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Shabery Cheek and former Youth and Sports deputy minister Steven Sim weighed in. In a nutshell, they hope the national athletes will be given the right amount of assistance. 

3. The episode also turned political.  

"Pemuda MCA berpendirian bahawa isu ini boleh diuruskan dengan lebih baik oleh pihak @MSNMALAYSIA, dan atlet-atlet ini wajar diberikan pembelaan sewajarnya." - Chua Hock Kuan (@chuaLbhPantai)

Selanjutnya: https://t.co/6w22L0Ak3y pic.twitter.com/emMuAHKg3y

— MCA (@MCAHQ) January 6, 2022

The tweet above raised eyebrows as the deputy youth and sports minister Datuk Seri Ti Lian Ker is MCA's vice president. 

4. The Youth and Sports Ministry, the minister and deputy minister have yet to issue any statement regarding the matter, or to clarify the situation.

5. Instead, the National Sports Council, had via Utusan Malaysia yesterday, explained that the allowances are given based on performances.

“Elaun yang kita perkenalkan sekarang adalah berdasarkan penilaian prestasi semasa para atlet.

“Kita juga mahu bersikap lebih adil. Kalau dulu semua sama dapat RM2,000 tak kira atlet itu menang emas, perak atau gangsa. Sekarang kita mahu atlet berusaha lebih keras dan menjadi satu dorongan mereka mendapatkan emas agar layak menikmati elaun RM2,000 itu."

6. I had a chat, yet again, with Rayzam Shah yesterday evening. We spoke about the Utusan Malaysia article and how this matter could turn political. Rayzam said these distractions will not stop him from eyeing for a podium finish in the upcoming SEA Games.

7. Rayzam isn't the only one who has been voicing out. Professional squash player Low Wee Wern, who was among the athletes dropped from ministry's elite programme, had said:

In case it is not clear, I am not talking about money or budget cuts. All I am saying is that the procedure of how it was done should have been better https://t.co/LoEhYluk5b

— Wee Wern Low (@WeeWernLow) January 6, 2022

8. Former Malaysian diver, Bryan Nickson Lomas said:

Atlet patut dan berhak dapat status kontrak mereka lebih awal untuk buat persediaan. Atlet2 ni ada yang level bertaraf dunia. Mmg perlu perancangan rapi. https://t.co/8TNbSVtU9a

— Bryan Nickson Lomas (@bryannickson90) January 8, 2022

9.  Sprinter Zaidatul Husniah Zulkifli, who was also dropped from the ministry's programme, was quoted by Harian Metro as saying:

"Saya sendiri tak tahu ini keputusan siapa. Saya tanya KOM (Kesatuan Olahraga Malaysia) mereka kata MSN (Majlis Sukan Negara), tapi bila tanya MSN, mereka kata KOM punya keputusan ...

"Kalau betul nak gugurkan saya, beri tahu awal-awal, tak perlulah saya susah payah nak berlari di kejohanan itu. Sebab saya pun baru kembali menjalani latihan dua bulan lalu. Ini seperti janji tak ditepati."

10. All this would not be an issue if associations are able to stand on their own feet and not expect funding from the government. National discuss thrower Muhammad Irfan Shamsuddin had this to say:

"Apabila terlalu bergantung kepada MSN, MSN kata tidak… persatuan pun terpaksa ikut sebab hanya mengharapkan peruntukan daripada MSN. Dalam hal ini, kita tidak boleh salahkan MSN sepenuhnya kerana banyak atlet dan persatuan yang mereka perlu jaga.

"Jadi, persatuan sepatutnya memainkan peranan, cari penaja. Contohilah BAM persatuan Badminton Malaysia) yang mana mereka turut bayar gaji kepada pemain di samping elaun latihan diberikan MSN.

"Kalau sejak dulu lagi persatuan memainkan peranan mereka, situasi seperti hari ini boleh dielakkan sebenarnya."