No Place For Race Religion And Politics In Sports

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“So after 25 years of presenting the many wonderful and not-so-wonderful facets of Malaysian sports, I have decided to bow out because I choose not to be part of the total politicisation of sports – its total corruption.
“From football to cricket, the game has been compromised. Sold out, lock, stock and barrel and I fear, I too will become tainted if I stay.
“The final straw which broke the proverbial camel’s back is the creeping malevolence of racism which has taken a stranglehold on our sports.” - excerpts from sports columnist and editor, Fauzi Omar’s final column on June 27, 2000.
COMMENT | Has anything changed since this respected sports commentator left the scene 23 years ago? Have we progressed or regressed?
On taking office three months ago, Deputy Sports Minister Adam Adli talked about the national sports arena being free of corruption, inefficiency and leakages - in order to raise Malaysian sports to a higher level.
Many sports officials took umbrage, some pretended that these problems were non-existent while a few maintained stoic silence – either too afraid to speak out or not wanting to offend the officialdom - some of its members are prominent political leaders. A few could have been also on the gravy train benefitting from the crumbs thrown by the big boys.
Over the years, I have investigated government spending on sports and the system is opaque. No one is willing to be transparent and when questioned on why millions had been spent on wasteful activities, the answer was: “It was the minister’s decision.”
But even such decisions can be overruled. Weeks after the Malaysian contingent returned from the 2012 Olympics without a gold, I asked the then-minister to account for the RM20 million spent on the “Road to London” project. He agreed.
But the head honcho of the National Sports Council vetoed the minister and decreed that the public does not have access to the expenditure and deemed it non-obligatory.
"We cannot give to the public every detail of the accounts. It is not necessary," he told this writer.
At that time, I wrote: “This is the microcosm of the affairs of the ministry where scant regard is shown for being accountable for the public funds which are made in the name of sports.
“No one knows if more of this gigantic amount was spent on travel and allowances for officials than actual training of athletes. The culture of doing everything in secret without the prying eyes of ‘outsiders’ thrived.”
On investigating the missing RM4 million from the Paralympic Council of Malaysia in 2015, I discovered that the then-president had “invested” the money without the knowledge of other council members.
There are so many other instances of misfeasance by officials but now that we have a new Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh - whose mantra has been and is still transparency and accountability. Hopefully, we will see a change.
If she can publish details of the expenditure of funds allocated to her constituency, it will not be difficult to direct officials who had previously refused to make public the expenditure of taxpayer funds of the ministry to change their ways.
But now, there are two more important issues to tackle – race and religion. However, they are not new and they have been allowed to grow because of one word – sensitive – which was used to mask the problem. No one wanted to discuss the issues publicly.
At one time, our unity was embodied by our national teams cutting across race and religious lines. But slowly, race and religious supremacy took over.
Youth and Sports Minister Hannah YeohEven sports administrators who were the backbone of talent spotting and development had to make way for what is seen as an extension of the affirmative policies introduced way back in 1972.
Unity through sports is an overused cliché. There is a lack of non-Malay participation because of the structure that has been embedded in our education system.
Parents tell their children to focus on studying and forget extra-curricular activities for a simple reason – while their bumiputera counterparts have better access to scholarships and bursaries, they have to earn them by doing better academically.
‘Begins in schools’
This is the root of the problem. In school, they may attend physical education classes together but back home, they are with their books. Hence, the talk about unity becomes redundant.
It is because of such a system that two sports-related issues have made the headlines. The first is the racially-laced tweet by a national hockey player and the attempts made by a teacher to coax a student to convert to Islam if he wanted to further his football career.
The small consolation is that action had been taken in both cases. The player has been suspended and the education ministry is carrying out investigations.
Yesterday, football coach B Sathianathan did not exactly drop a bombshell but said what had been talked about in whispers in the corridors of power.
The sidelining of non-Malays from participating in sports, he said, is becoming prevalent and requires stern action.
“Since 10 to 15 years ago, I have been getting complaints from parents, usually ethnic Indians or Chinese, saying their children are being sidelined from joining football teams,” he was quoted as saying.
I foresee no change. Previous reports of such racists and religious bigots went on unchecked. The player will be back in the squad (she has already talked about making a comeback) and the teacher, in all probability, be transferred to another school as if all has been forgiven and forgotten.
Football coach B SathianathanHowever, this does not solve the problem. Transferring the teacher is merely transferring the problem. In some instances, it emboldens them.
Needless to say, the fundamentals have to be addressed. The education system over the years has created a class system that not only divides the races but also differentiates between the haves and the have-nots.
Unless fundamental changes are made to the education system where it all starts and is nurtured, we can only watch as the young look elsewhere to be rewarded for their talents – academically and in sports like the many Malaysian administrators who are serving in international sports bodies. - Mkini
R. NADESWARAN started his journalistic career as a sports reporter 50 years and despite switching to other areas, he continues to be a judicious observer of sports and related activities. Comments: [email protected]
The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of MMKtT.

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