All promises of rewards for athletes must now be in black and white

Hannah Yeoh.-Bernamapic

KAJANG: No more verbal commitments. All promises of rewards or contributions for athletes must now be put in writing.

Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh has urged the Paralympic Council of Malaysia (PCM) to strengthen their sponsorship management by ensuring official contracts are signed whenever sponsors intend to provide incentives or contributions to athletes.

She said the Road to Gold (RTG) programme has already adopted this approach to ensure sponsors honour their pledges if athletes achieve the set results.

“When sponsors offer rewards, whether in the form of cars, cash or other incentives, RTG requires them to sign a contract before athletes compete in any tournament,” said Hannah.

“In this way, when an announcement is made, their goodwill is clear. If the athlete wins, the sponsor must honour the commitment made earlier.

“RTG already has this framework in place, and I am asking PCM to follow suit so we no longer need to debate whether athletes will receive what was promised after a major event.’’

The issue surfaced after Paris Paralympics gold medallist Cheah Liek Hou criticised PCM on social media for failing to deliver the RM60,000 reward they had promised for his successful defence of the men’s singles SU5 title. He has been waiting for a year with no updates.

Patience running thin: Cheah Liek Hou has been waiting for a year with no updates on his reward for winning the Paris Paralympics gold.

PCM explained that the delay was due to one of their sponsors pulling out, but also indicated they may act against Liek Hou for raising the matter on social media.

This means PCM could bar him from taking part in multi-sport events such as the Asean Para Games in Thailand next January or the Asian Para Games in October.

However, Hannah is confident that PCM will not pursue the move and has met their president Datuk Seri Megat D. Shariman Zaharuddin yesterday to discuss the matter further.

“I believe PCM will not ban Liek Hou, but if they proceed, the ministry will not support the decision and we will ensure our athlete is not penalised.

“This is not a disciplinary case where he skipped training, committed a crime or did anything wrong. That is not the case at all, so banning Liek Hou would be unjustified,” she added.