KUALA LUMPUR: Chinese New Year cheers arrived early for swimmer Khiew Hoe Yean and wushu exponent Tan Cheong Min as they emerged as the biggest winners of the National Sports Incentive Scheme (Shakam) for their exploits at the Thailand SEA Games last December.
Hoe Yean was the highest male incentive recipient with RM32,000 after winning the 200m and 400m freestyle individual gold.
The Kuala Lumpur-born swimmer also won silver from the 4×200m freestyle relay and 4×100m freestyle relay events.
Cheong Min pocketed RM26,666.67 following her double gold feat from the combined nanquan, nandao dan nangun as well as the women's team duilian event, where she teamed up with Loh Ying Ting and Pang Pui Yee.
Hoe Yean and Cheong Min were also announced as the best male and female Malaysian athletes at the SEA Games.
A jubilant Cheong Min, who is also the reigning world champion in her discipline, said that her bumper reward was made possible through good support from the Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM), Youth and Sports ministry, National Sports Council (NSC), National Sports Institute (NSI) and Wushu Federation of Malaysia (WFM).
"I'm very happy to win the best athlete award and receive the Shakam reward. I went through a busy season starting from July to December. It ended perfect with the SEA Games.
"The three months intensive training in China last year proved to be effective as I managed to win eight gold and three silver medals from five competitions.
"All the support enabled me to focus on my performance and recover from my injuries.
"I see my success is not just due to my individual effort. It's only possible with all the parties support," said the 27-year-old from Melaka.
Overall, the NSC distributed a total of RM2.6 million in Shakam incentives to athletes across 46 sports based on their achievements at the Thailand SEA Games edition.
The 1,142 strong Malaysian contingent secured 57 gold, 57 silver, and 117 bronze medals.
Hockey recorded the highest total payout among sports, receiving RM316,800 from a combined contribution of field, indoor and 5s events.
Para swimmers Abdul Halim Mohd and Carmen Lim were the highest incentive recipient from the recent Asean Para Games in Thailand with RM62,000 and RM39,000 respectively.
Halim bagged five gold medals while Carmen splashed to two gold, four silver and one bronze medals in the pool.
The para contingent received a total of RM1.475mil in incentives from 201 medals marking a successful outing in Korat.
Youth and Sports Minister Dr Taufiq Johari hoped the incentives will drive Malaysian athletes to push further for the major assignments - Nagoya-Aichi Asian Games and Glasgow Commonwealth Games - later this year.
"A total of RM4.42mil was distributed, comprising RM2.6mil under the Shakam scheme for able-bodied athletes and RM1.475mil for para athletes, bringing the overall amount to RM4.42mil.
"This is one of the ways the government shows appreciation to our athletes, to keep them motivated and to ensure their efforts are recognised. This is not the end point for our athletes but it is the beginning of an even stronger push towards upcoming multi-sport Games, particularly those scheduled for 2026," said Taufiq.
