PETALING JAYA: Malaysia cycling technical director John Beasley is counting down his final days with the national squad and believes former Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh is one of the people who made the programme stronger.
Beasley, who is in Shanghai for his final assignment with Malaysia at the World Championships, described Hannah as one of the two best ministers he worked with during his more than two decades in the country.
He also credited her support for helping create the environment behind Malaysia’s recent success at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, where the cycling squad won one gold, one silver and two bronzes.
"As we celebrate the success of these Asian Games, I believe it is important that credit is also given to the people who helped create the environment and momentum that led us here," Beasley said in a social media post.
"I want to personally and publicly thank you for your commitment to excellence, your honesty, your vision and, most importantly, the genuine care you showed towards our athletes and the people working behind them.
"You made coaches feel valued. That matters more than people sometimes realise. When coaches and support staff have clear direction, trust, honesty and strong leadership, it gives everyone the confidence to push that little bit harder and give that little bit more."
Beasley admitted he might have stayed with the national team had Hannah remained in charge of the ministry.
The Australian said he could handle criticism, but was disappointed by what he felt was a lack of leadership support when he was trying to build a stronger high-performance programme.
"When I was personally attacked by people who had little understanding of what it takes to build and lead a genuine high-performance programme, what disappointed me most was not the criticism itself.
"After more than two decades in elite sport, I can handle criticism.
"What mattered was the absence of leadership when it was needed.
"When nobody steps forward to address those situations, eventually you understand that you are no longer valued in the same way.
"That played a significant part in my decision to leave a country and a sporting programme that I genuinely love."
Hannah served as Youth and Sports Minister from 2022 to 2025 before taking over the Federal Territories portfolio.
Beasley has been part of Malaysia’s track cycling set-up since 2006 and played a key role in the programme’s development, including guiding Datuk Azizulhasni Awang’s career and helping establish the national team’s high-performance system.
