Farce at SEA Games can never be snuffed out

 

In a column last year, I wrote: “There was no National Film Development Corporation when L Krishnan produced a series of P Ramlee movies which are still revered. There was no Sports Ministry or National Sports Council when Mani Jegathesan and Karu Selvarartnam set the track ablaze with their stunning performances.

“Their records stood for over 25 years. Why is it that when the government gets involved, the standards always drop?”

Yet, Malaysian sports is at a crossroads - unable to move further than the occasional medal in selected tournaments despite millions being spent.

While we can subject coaches and competitors to their results as their key performance index, there is little to judge the many politicians and titled people who classify themselves as untouchable - occupying and warming their seats in sports bodies, year after year.

Many of them are not there for the love of the game as some claim. There is always a personal agenda. Because they bring vast sums to keep the association going, they can keep themselves in the limelight and garner all the publicity.

I once remarked that some of our players are trained and taught to run to the sidelines after winning to hug the officials and wait for the cameras. The coach, who had spent countless hours nurturing their talents, becomes just another prop in this whole shindig.

A circus of sorts

Yet again, the failures at the recently concluded South East Asian Games (SEA Games) exposed our penchant to operate without KPIs and how the power of money has yet again given way for this to be disregarded and treated as redundant and not applicable.

The SEA Games has turned into a farce - a circus of sorts - with participating countries not only including their respective traditional sports but for a good measure, including foreigners who were supposedly given instant citizenship.

The host nation includes traditional sports that they are good at and SEA Games Federation just keeps on nodding on such inclusions because of “Asean solidarity”.

In Cambodia, there were unusual sports such as Kun Bokator (a Cambodian martial art), Teqball, Arnis (a stick-wielding martial art of the Philippines), and Chinlone - organised to benefit some countries.

To be fair, Cambodia was not the only one to include foreigners in its contingent, as the Philippines, Thailand, Laos, and Indonesia also had naturalised players, especially in basketball.

The Malaysian Cricket Association, which was confident of coming home with a “golden hattrick” of gold medals, came back with their tails between their legs - battered by a Cambodian team comprising 13 foreign players from the Indian sub-continent, some of whom were claimed to be “instant” naturalised citizens.

Look in the mirror first

But those living in glass houses should not throw stones. Let us not forget that Malaysia is guilty too of this nonsensical approach to winning.

What about our footballers? On Merdeka Day last year, British-born footballer Lee Tuck announced that he had become a naturalised citizen.

From 2014 to 2021, 25 players have been naturalised and played for Malaysia, eight of whom had no stints with either Harimau Malaya or junior national teams - it was a direct entry.

Olympic Council of Malaysia president Norza Zakaria could only venture to say that these allegations made by the cricket association would be raised at the next SEA Games Federation meeting to avoid such cases in the future.

Perhaps, he meant it as a joke, as edition after edition, the same thing keeps happening.

The founder of the Olympics, Baron Pierre de Coubertin famously said: “The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not winning but taking part; the essential thing in life is not conquering but fighting well.”

The SEA Games has lost its lustre, with countries going to extremes for winning. No one is interested in the spirit of taking part or fighting well.

Shouldn’t we consider our participation in the future having lost the spirit on which the Federation and the Games were founded? Shouldn’t Malaysians insist that only Olympic sports be included?

But then, like diplomats and politicians, sports officials have also inculcated into their systems an important weapon in their arsenal - a keyword called solidarity.

Meaning: We will take turns doing this and we shall not offend each other. We must behave like adults and not forget that we are abang-adik.

This means the business will continue as usual and the charade is meant to be a permanent fixture in future games and never questioned openly. - Mkini

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R NADESWARAN started his journalistic career as a sports reporter and continues to be a close observer of sports, its administration and related issues. Comments: citizen.nades22@gmail.com.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of MMKtT.