Umno Youth raps OCM for missed opportunities, 'lack of care' over Paris Olympians' kit

PETALING JAYA: The Olympic Council of Malaysia's (OCM) approval of the design for the national contingent's 2024 Paris Olympics attire shows a lack of care, says Umno Youth.

Its secretary Hafiz Ariffin said the OCM, as an authoritative body in national Olympic sports matters, had four years to oversee the process of designing, financing and producing the kit.

“This should not be deflected onto the sponsor of the attire (Yonex Sunrise) with the excuse that the design came from the sponsor and cost factors had to be considered.

“It’s not just a matter of accepting any design simply because it is sponsored,” he said in a statement Thursday (June 27).

Last weekend, OCM unveiled the gold-themed outfits with tiger stripe designs which were meant to reflect Malaysia’s relentless pursuit of gold medals.

The outfits drew flak online with social media users calling the designs “ugly” and “cheap-looking.”

Hafiz added that the task of designing the national athletes' outfits for the upcoming Paris Olympics should have been a simple task.

He suggested that OCM could have collaborated with established local sportswear brands capable of designing athletic wear and understanding the needs of athletes, such as Voltra, Al-ikhsan and Dribblack, among others.

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“It was a missed opportunity for OCM not to have a collaboration with them (as it) could have provided an international platform for local talents,” he added.

Hafiz also criticised OCM for its response to public criticism of the design by saying it "did not matter if the attire is beautiful if we don’t bring home gold."

“This response reflects nothing but arrogance towards the criticism.

“How can they demand a gold medal when OCM failed at the simplest task of designing attire?

“We know that (the athletes' kit) is the first thing that will project our nation's image when the spotlight shines, and the world watches.

“There's no point wearing Prada shoes if you lack the taste and judgment to approve proper attire design for the contingent,” he added.

Hafiz said the national athletes have the right to have all their needs met, and the implementing body has to fulfil its responsibilities well.

He also stressed that the public must scrutinise the work of OCM and other implementing bodies so that national sports continue to progress.

On Tuesday (June 25), Paris Olympics chef de mission Datuk Hamidin Mohd Amin said fans would have the opportunity to design the kit for the next Olympics in Los Angeles in 2028, after the negative feedback on the 2024 design.