KUALA LUMPUR – The Paralympic Council of Malaysia (PCM) pledges to empower and mould para-athletes into future leaders through the establishment of its athletes’ commission.
PCM president Datuk Seri Megat D. Shahriman Zaharudin said the council complies with the conditions set by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) and serves as a perfect platform for Malaysian para-athletes to voice out their opinions and have a career after retirement.
“IPC came up with a requirement in their constitution that each of their members should have an athletes’ commission, effective from July this year, and we quickly adapted it to our system as we wanted our para-athletes to have a say in the decision-making that we do in our council.
“We initially thought of coming up with this commission about two years ago when we found out that South Korea was the first Asian nation to do it. But we couldn’t kick-start this initiative earlier as we were scouting for the right athletes to run the commission.
“The commission is a great platform for our para-athletes to improve their knowledge in administration so that they can also one day lead PCM in the future. I’m a firm believer that those who run an association should be someone who knows about the struggles and hardship of the association,” said Megat when contacted by Scoop.
Megat also said that the athletes’ commission will be an eye-opener for the Youth and Sports Ministry to take para-athletes seriously and improve their requirements.
“All these years we have been receiving little support from the government compared to what we always demanded. PCM has always been sidelined with a low allocation.
“Now with the current para-athletes being a part of our commission, I hope that the government can be more considerate by directly hearing from our para-athletes on what they require to elevate their performance.
“I hope through our athletes’ commission the government can provide our council with our requirements so that we can continue to produce more medal-winning athletes for the country,” Megat added.
Swimmer Carmen Lim, the 23-year-old Asean Para Games triple medallist, will lead the commission, as IPC requires athletes’ representation at governing board decision-making levels to drive the Paralympic Movement.
Other members of the council are para-sprinter Mohamad Ridzuan Puzi, para-swimmers Jamery Siga and Fraidden Dawan, and boccia athlete Noor Askuzaimey Mat Salim.
The five para-athletes will assume office from December 12 to December 31, 2024.
An election will be conducted to determine the members of the commission for the next term.
Previously Scoop reported that PCM expressed its scepticism regarding the government’s commitment to developing para-athletes, as it believes that the allocated budget of RM12 million for 2024 is insufficient.
Although the amount is a 41.6% increase from the previous year’s budget of RM5 million, the council argues that it needs around RM50 million annually for its grassroots development programmes.
Including Malaysia, a total of 157 countries out of 193 have established an athletes’ commission in their respective Paralympic councils. – December 21,2023