Pandelela, Jun Hoong to receive life-long pensions

RIO DE JANEIRO: Olympic silver medallists Pandelela Rinong and Cheong Jun Hoong will share a RM300,000 cash incentive and a monthly pension of RM3,000 following their winning feat at the Rio Olympic Games here.

Under the National Sports Council incentive scheme for Olympics, a gold medal winner will receive RM1mil and a monthly pension of RM5,000; silver medallists, RM300,000 and a RM3,000 pension while bronze medallists with receive RM100,000 plus a RM2,000 pension.

Pandelela and Jun Hoong won the silver medal in the women's synchronised 10m platform diving contest after collecting 344.34 points. China won the gold and Canada, bronze.

Pandelela became the first Malaysian woman to win a medal at the Olympics when she won the bronze in the 10m individual platform event at the 2012 London Olympics.

NSC director-general Datuk Ahmad Shapawi Ismail said Pandelela and Jun Hoong will share the RM300,000 cash incentive and RM5,000 pension, which will start immediately.

When asked if double medallist Pandelela would receive two pensions, Ahmad Shapawi said she would only receive the higher of the two.

Besides Pandelela, Datuk Lee Chong Wei was also a double silver medallist in the 2008 Beijing and 2012 London Olympics. – Bernama