Youth and Sports Minister Ahmad Faizal Azumu is to be blamed and not the national athletes over the country's lacklustre performance at the Southeast Asian Games, said former deputy youth and sports minister Steven Sim.
Sim pointed out that under Faizal (above), athletes have struggled with steep budget cuts.
"Faizal's expression of disappointment over the Malaysian contingent not achieving a higher placing in the SEA Games in Hanoi reflects the minister's continued failure in leading the sports sector," Sim said in a statement today.
The Bukit Mertajam MP said Faizal’s move was tantamount to blaming the athletes.
"The person responsible for Malaysia's worst performance in the SEA Games in 40 years is the youth and sports minister and not the Malaysian athletes who had to struggle under difficult situations due to the minister's failure," Sim said.
The allocation for athletes to prepare for international competitions was slashed by 80 percent in Budget 2022 compared to Budget 2018, he added.
"Apart from that, training allowances for 253 athletes were also terminated while those who continued to receive allowances saw a drastic cut of up to 60 percent.
"The disappointment voiced by the minister is wholly unacceptable when many including myself have warned in Parliament since November last year that the sports sector would see a decline due to the minister's failure and steep budget cuts for sports," Sim said.
‘Apologise to athletes’
The DAP national organising secretary also pointed out that multiple proposals to salvage the situation had fallen on deaf ears.
"The youth and sports minister should apologise to the athletes and sports fans.
"It is time for the youth and sports minister to admit his failure and take remedial action to revive the country's sporting strength by ensuring better welfare for athletes in order to find and retain talents," Sim added.
Previously, Faizal said "all Malaysians were disappointed" after Malaysia came in sixth in the SEA Games despite reaching the country's goal of 36 gold medals.
Malaysia stood behind Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore and the Phillippines in the Games’ ranking, the lowest in nearly 40 years. - Mkini
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