KUALA LUMPUR: Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh has expressed sadness and regret over the actions of the Warzone World Championship (WWC) organisers for allegedly using a child participant to issue an apology to the Youth and Sports Ministry regarding the organisation of the tournament.
In a social media post, Hannah said the move was inappropriate and raised questions about the organisers’ accountability, given that the event was held without official approval from the Malaysian Commissioner of Sports (PJS) as required under the Sports Development Act 1997 (Act 576).
"Please do not use children to make such explanations. The ministry does not need this young child to apologise. The child is not at fault. The organisers must take responsibility,” she said.
Yesterday, the child participant, in a nearly three-minute video, apologised to Hannah, her deputy Adam Adli Abd Halim and Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek over the incident which occurred during the WWC tournament press conference recently.
The ministry, in a statement last Sunday, said the tournament scheduled for December had not received its approval.
According to KBS, any sports event, particularly those involving international participation, must obtain approval from the PJS in line with Act 576.
Earlier, a video of the WWC tournament press conference went viral, showing two children believed to be participants of the competition fighting during the introduction session.
The incident drew negative reactions from social media users, who urged the authorities to conduct further investigations into the organisation of the tournament. - Bernama
