BUKIT JALIL – Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh was in a defiant mood today, saying she will not apologise for sending young athletes to the just-concluded SEA Games in Cambodia.
This was after PAS Youth leader Ahmad Fadhli Shaari had called for the minister and her deputy Adam Adli Abd Halim to apologise for the Malaysian contingent’s failure to hit the 40-gold target set before the Games.
The Malaysian contingent recorded their worst-ever SEA Games performance by finishing seventh in the medal standings and failing to meet the 40-gold target.
The country ended the Games with 34 gold, 45 silver, and 96 bronze medals.
However, Hannah disagreed that this was the worst performance the country had produced at the Games.
“Many sports that brought us gold in Hanoi were not contested in Cambodia.
“There were also plenty of sports that are not popular in Malaysia that were contested in Cambodia.
“We had a 59% win rate from all events participated in and brought home 51% of medals in the events that we contested.
“That is better than the 48% of medals won in events participated in Manila in 2019.
“So, it is not fair to say that this is our worst performance ever at the SEA Games,” she said at a press conference held at the National Sports Council in Bukit Jalil here today.
Meanwhile, the minister added that there were plenty of success stories at the Games when it came to young athletes making their debut.
12 gold, 20 silver, and 46 bronze medals came from first-time participants.
Hannah highlighted athletes such as Umar Osman, who broke the men’s national 400m record, and 15-year-old Ng Jing Xuen who won gold in golf.
“We have said from day one that a lot of medals were lost due to not being contested.
“I will not say sorry for making the decision to invest in young athletes – this is the right decision for Malaysia.
“We are playing the long game for the next two cycles of SEA Games in Thailand (2025) and Kuala Lumpur (2027),” she added.
The Segambut MP also highlighted some other challenges that have affected sports in Malaysia.
“Political instability has hit sports hard, there were plenty of programmes in place, but they could not be executed properly due to personality changes.
“Time (and) stability (are) very important to work on programmes to support our athletes.
“Financially, (gambling company) Sports Toto’s sponsorship is also a third of what it used to be a decade ago,” she said. – The Vibes, May 19, 2023
