Olympic Council Urges Dept Sports Minister to Clarify Remark on M’sian Sports Being Filled With Corruption

Despite it being only their first few days in office and in their official roles, it appears that some Deputy Ministers have already been highlighted under the spotlight for all the wrong reasons.

In his first working day as youth and sports Deputy Minister, Adam Adli had stated that the country’s sports industry has the potential to grow more rapidly, but action needs to be taken to ensure that no more damage is caused due to corruption.

He explained that the national sports arena should be free from any corruption, inefficiency and leakages to raise it to a higher level.

“We have many world-class athletes, not a few who managed to bring gold for the country at international championships, but usually when we go in depth, most of the time there is corruption, so we have to deal with this.”

Accusation is not fully justified and not backed by evidence

Although Adam did not directly specify which organisation was the one he was accusing of corruption and kept it relatively general, it appeared that certain organisations took offense to his statement.

In a statement released yesterday (December 12), the Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) urged Adam to justify his allegation that the sports fraternity is plagued by elements of corruption.

OCM president Mohamad Norza Zakaria described the statement as uncalled for, unfair and prejudicial and pointed out that various national sports bodies had succeeded in producing world champions in their respective sports throughout the decades.

“As the umbrella body of 57 national sports associations (NSAs), the OCM is deeply disappointed with Adam Adli’s statement which was not fully justified and not backed by evidence.”

“Rightfully, Adam should engage the stakeholders before coming up with a blanket statement that reflects (a) poor understanding of the existing structure,” he said in a statement.

Meanwhile, Norza explained that a number of NSAs had been recognised as model associations which observe the best practices of good governance.

“Although the NSAs are far from perfect and work within constraints, you cannot tar us with the same brush. Undoubtedly, there are weaknesses that need to be rectified but to claim that the sports fraternity is corrupt is prejudicial and immature,” added Norza.

In support of the statement, Football Association of Malaysia president Hamidin Mohd Amin and Wushu Federation of Malaysia president Chong Kim Fatt have also expressed disappointment with the statement.

“The statement does not benefit anybody. It only serves to antagonise the NSAs who are supposedly the biggest stakeholders in the sporting fraternity. It is not fair for those who have worked hard and toiled night and day to bring success to their respective sports,” said Chong.

Not directed towards anyone

On the other hand, it appeared that the majority of netizens disagreed with the statement by OCM and wondered why they took such offense to the statement by Adam when it wasn’t directly aimed at any specific body.

“Adam is mentioning it for the greater good of the country’s sporting scene, why do you feel the need to fight back with a media release? Can’t you just accept it with an open heart?”

Another commented, “It was a general context statement. Why (did) OCM have to blow things out of proportion?”

What do you think of the statement by the OCM?

Also read: Deputy Youth & Sports Minister Clocks in at 9:52am on His 1st Day, M’sians Question His Lateness