PETALING JAYA: “Wait for the president to announce it.”
That was the response from the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM), who confirmed that national shuttlers Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei and Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah will be rewarded with bonuses for their achievements at the World Championships in Paris, which concluded on Sunday.
BAM deputy president Datuk V. Subramaniam said the amount would be revealed by president Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz once he returns from his overseas duties.
Tengku Zafrul, who is also the Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry, is currently on a working visit to China with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
“As for BAM, we have to wait for the president, who is abroad on official duty. When he returns, discussions will be held and he will make the announcement himself.
“There will definitely be a bonus, but the amount will be revealed later together with the president,” said Subramaniam.
Tang Jie-Ee Wei created history by becoming Malaysia’s first mixed doubles world champions after defeating world No. 2 Jiang Zhenbang-Wei Yaxin in the final.
Pearly-Thinaah also made their mark by clinching silver, the first-ever medal by a Malaysian women’s doubles pair at the world meet, despite losing to China’s world No. 1 Liu Shengshu-Tan Ning in the final.
The shuttlers returned home yesterday to a warm reception from Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh and BAM’s top management.
They also received incentives from the government under the Shakam scheme.
Hannah announced that Tang Jie-Ee Wei will receive RM20,000 under Shakam, while Pearly-Thinaah will pocket RM10,000.
“For Shakam, the amount is fixed. For a gold medal, it is RM20,000, so each of them will receive RM10,000. For silver medallists, the total is RM10,000, so they will each take home RM5,000.
“Badminton is a unifying sport for Malaysians, and under the Madani government, we will continue to provide strong investment for it. Under the Road to Gold programme, we have extended support not only to athletes but also to coaches and the support team, including rehab and physiotherapy whenever they compete,” said Hannah.
