About a week ago, people discovered that Olympic Council of Malaysia President, Tan Sri Norza Zakaria, had brought his wife and son to the 2024 Paris 2024 Olympics to fulfill his ‘special guest quota’. This caused backlash among Malaysians as athletes couldn’t even bring their coaches along due to limited passes.
Believing that Tan Sri Norza prioritises himself over the athletes, Malaysians called for his resignation and even pressured Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh to sack him.
Now, Hannah Yeoh is taking to her Facebook page to clarify that she cannot fire people who she did not appoint herself, while explaining that some roles are elected by members of the respective organisations.
She wrote, “One of the key things I want to do before I complete my terms as the Youth and Sports Minister is to place the right people in the right positions. Some positions are elected by their members, such as (in organisations like) Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) and Football Association of Malaysia (FAM).”
“And others are appointed by me as a Minister, such as former athletes as board members of agencies within the Ministry of Youth and Sports (KBS Malaysia). Those elected by others, I do not have the power to remove. That is done through a democratic process and we must respect that. I can only remove those I appoint.”
So, who did she appoint?
Hannah Yeoh went on to share details on those who she had appointed herself, highlighting the fact that they, themselves, are former athletes who will know what other athletes want and need.
“In my short time as Minister, I have appointed a lot of key former athletes to help me. It is my belief that former athletes understand sports and the needs of athletes. In the Road To Gold committee, I have 3 key former athletes to assist me – Lee Chong Wei, Nicol David and Mirnawan Nawawi,” she added.
Here are the other former athletes who have been appointed by Hannah Yeoh:
- National Sports Council: Suriaghandi Suppiah and Lee Chong Wei
- National Sports Institute: Datuk Marina Chin and Nicol David
- National Athletes Welfare Foundation (YAKEB): Farah Ann, Jeffrey Ong and Soo Beng Kiang
- Safe Sports Committee: Nurul Huda (chairperson)
- Sports Administrators: Datuk Seri Windsor John (Asian Football Federation) and Datuk Stuart Ramalingam (Road To Gold Coordinator)
Hannah Yeoh then praised Squash legend Datuk Nicol David for acing her role as Deputy Chef de Mission at the 2024 Paris Olympics and shared her hope of relying on former athletes to champion their predecessors through roles within her Ministry.
“It is my hope that she will continue to assist me in nation-building through sports development. I want my legacy to be about empowering our former athletes to help current and future athletes, because they know their needs and they understand,” Hannah Yeoh explained.
What do you think about this? Do feel free to share your thoughts in the comment section.
Also read: Norza, Who Brought Wife & Son to Olympics, May Soon Become VP of Olympic Council of Asia’s SEA Zone
