KUALA LUMPUR: The Paralympic Council of Malaysia (PCM) have denied promising para shuttler Cheah Liek Hou RM60,000 incentive for capturing gold in the Paris Paralympics and have decided to take action against him for “slandering” the organisation.
Liek Hou had criticised PCM in a social media post for not delivering on their promise of rewarding him and the other medal winners after a year.
The 37-year-old had alleged in the post it was like he and the other medal winners had been scammed.
PCM president Datuk Seri Megat D Shahriman Zaharudin was furious with Liek Hou's post, claiming that the organisation never promised him RM60,000.
"We never promised him RM60,000. I don't know how he came up with this amount," said Megat in a press conference at the Paralympics Sports Centre in Kampung Pandan on Thursday (Sept 18).
"We told him that the total we received from sponsors for all the medal winners was only RM55,000. We already explained this to him. If he was still unsure, he should have clarified with us first before posting in social media.
"Saying that we scammed is a very serious accusation and is slanderous. This tarnishes our image when we have been working so hard to get sponsors.
"We are now going to take legal action against him. We will be sending show cause letters to the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) and National Sports Council (NSC). This could lead to him being banned from competitions."
Liek Hou now is in danger of being banned from all multi-sports games which include the 2026 Asian Para Games in Nagoya and 2028 Paralympics in Los Angeles.
Megat then said that Liek Hou and powerlifter Bonnie Bunyau Gustin, who also won gold, will be given RM25,000 each.
"Two sponsors Zero Healthcare and B. Grimm Power have agreed to reward the medal winners," said Megat.
"We will be banking into the athlete's accounts today. Earlier, there was a delay as the people involved in B. Grimm Power wanted to present the cheque in person to the athletes. We informed Cheah as well.
"When he comes up with such statements, it affects future sponsorships as these companies are giving rewards as an act of goodwill. They don't have to do this."
Meanwhile, silver medallists Abdul Latif Romly and Ziyad Zolkefi will receive RM15,000 each while bronze medallist Eddy Bernard will get RM8,000.
Liek Hou is currently competing in the China Para International, which will end on Sunday (Sept 21).
