PETALING JAYA: Former athlete P. Savithri will finally get her long-awaited gold medal in the pentathlon from the 1971 SEAP Games – after a wait of 54 years.
Malaysia Athletics (MA) secretary-general Nurhayati Karim gave the assurance during a visit to Savithri’s home on Wednesday (Aug 27).
Savithri’s case came to light after a recent StarSport report highlighted that she never received the medal she won at the Kuala Lumpur Games in 1971. And it was her wish to receive the medal as Malaysia celebrate its National Day this week.
Nurhayati expressed regret over the oversight and apologised to the former national athlete.
"First and foremost, we extend our deepest and most sincere apologies to Savithri for the distress and frustration caused by the prolonged absence of her well-deserved medal," said Nurhayati in a statement.
"We acknowledge her incredible patience and unwavering perseverance over the last 54 years in seeking a resolution to this matter. Her achievements on the track brought great honour to Malaysia, and she deserves nothing less than our utmost respect and gratitude.
"Upon reviewing historical records, we can confirm that Ms. Savithri was the rightful winner of the medal in question and did receive it officially at the time.
"The issue arose when the medal was loaned to a former official of the then-administrating body for a display or documentation purpose and was never returned.
"This was a grave oversight and a breach of trust for which we take full responsibility. To right this historical wrong, MA, in full cooperation with the Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) and the National Sports Council (NSC), will immediately undertake the following actions," she said,
Savithri will get an official replica of her medal at a formal presentation ceremony.
"We will commission the creation of a full and official replica of the original 1971 SEAP Games medal," said Nuryahati.
"We are organising a formal ceremony to present the medal to Ms. P.Savithri. This event will be held with the dignity and honour that her sporting career merits, and will be attended by our leadership and representatives from OCM and NSC.
There will also be review of policies.
"We will initiate a thorough review of our internal policies regarding the safekeeping and handling of athletes' memorabilia to ensure such an incident can never happen again to any of our past, present, or future athletes.
"MA are committed to honouring the legacy of all our athletes who have served the nation with distinction," added Nurhayati, who has personally conveyed their apologies to Savithri.
"We thank the media and the public for bringing this important matter to our attention and allowing us the opportunity to finally resolve it."
