SAM to honour Kok Chi, Zolkples at awards ceremony

PETALING JAYA: The late Datuk Sieh Kok Chi and Datuk Seri Zolkples Embong will be honoured with a special award by the Sports Writers Association of Malaysia (SAM) for their exemplary services and towering contributions.

The ceremony will take place during the SAM-100PLUS Unity 2020-2021 Awards to be held on Tuesday.

National Unity Minister Datuk Halimah Mohamed Sadique and Deputy Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Seri Ti Lian Ker are scheduled to attend the event.

SAM president Norismadi Abd Manap said the passing of Kok Chi and Zolkples left a huge void in the national sports arena.

‘’We will always remember their services and contributions to Malaysian sports,” he said.

“They left us with so many memories. Kok Chi is known as the ‘Wikipedia’ of sports because he always had an answer to every question.

“As for Zolkples, he has never avoided or ignored the media. Even after leaving the sports administration institution, he was still the media’s reference in getting comments, criticisms and opinions on national sports issues.”

Kok Chi, a former national water polo player who represented the country at the SEAP Games and Asian Games, played a significant role in the development of sports, and his contributions also advanced the Olympic movement in Malaysia.

He was also one of the people responsible for the prospering of the Olympic Council of Malaysia, being there from their early years to the institution that stands strong today.

Kok Chi was elected to the honorary secretary’s post in 1992 and served till 2015.

The former engineer was also the chef de mission for the 1999 SEA Games in Brunei and was conferred the Tokoh Sukan award earlier this year.

Zolkples was a former National Sports Council (NSC) director general. Apart from helming the NSC, he also served as secretary of the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) from 2000-2002 and chief executive officer of the 2017 Kuala Lumpur SEA Games organising committee (Masoc).

He has also worked under several Sports Ministers.