Youth and Sports Minister Reezal Merican Naina Merican today promised that there will be no cover-up in investigations into the alleged sexual abuse in the sports industry.
In a statement today, Reezal (above) said he was "disturbed", "angry" and "disappointed" to read the accounts by former national swimmers Cindy Ong and others who had to endure "despicable" acts by coaching staff.
"We all have families, children, husbands, wives, siblings who may be vulnerable to harassment like this. It would be unacceptable if we can't protect our loved ones.
"There is no room for this to continue to happen and to disrupt the works of our country's talent and sports development," he said.
Reezal said he has instructed the National Sports Council (NSC) to contact Ong and assist her in lodging a police report against the alleged perpetrator.
He added that the NSC will provide full cooperation and promised there will be no cover-up or protection for the perpetrators.
He added that existing platforms - the Athlete Representative Committee, Sports Misconduct and Harassment Committee and Athletes Commission - would be strengthened to make it easier for athletes and officials to report untoward incidents.
Ong and several other former national swimmers spoke to Malaysiakini at length over incidents of harassment and abuse by coaching staff when they were training.
In the case of Ong, she alleged that the abuse began since she was a teenager, but she did not know how to handle the situation at the time. - Mkini
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