KUALA LUMPUR – Are our senior Olympians being appreciated by the Youth and Sports Ministry for their services?
There are approximately more than 300 former Malaysian athletes who have represented Malaysia in the world’s biggest sporting event since the nation’s first participation in the tournament in 1956.
However, not all the Olympians are being supported by the government, the sports ministry’s primary focus has been on supporting the medal-winning Olympians with financial benefits.
Speaking to Scoop, former national goalkeeping icon Wong Kam Fook, who was part of the Malaysian football team that qualified for the 1972 Munich Olympics, voiced his frustration for not receiving his pension money from the government over the past two decades.
“I was promised by the government before I was inducted into the Hall of Fame, and I was told that I would be getting a monthly pension based on my contributions to the country in the 1972 Olympics.
“It has been more than 20 years now, and the promise is yet to be fulfilled. I have given up on following up on this matter with them.
“The reason why I’m frustrated is that the government shouldn’t have promised me if they can’t fulfil it. For my age, I’m lucky that I still have an income as I have been giving goalkeeping lessons in Hong Kong to around six to seven school kids.
“But I don’t think all the former Olympians are as lucky as me. I hope that the government can take care of them by paying their pensions accordingly,” said the 74-year-old who was awarded the best goalkeeper in the 1972 Munich Olympics qualifiers.
Responding to the matter, Noraseela Mohd Khalid, president of the Malaysian Olympian Association (MOA), said that her association is ready to take care and give more importance to the welfare of former Olympians.
Noraseela who broke onto the scene with a bronze medal in the 400m hurdles event at the 2006 Doha Asian Games hopes for strong backing from the government for the association to continue their initiatives.
“In our association’s documents, there was no document that states that former Olympians have to receive a pension from our association.
“Maybe there was an arrangement made by the former youth and sports minister (2013-2018), Khairy Jamaluddin, during his tenure – but I’m not sure about that.
“We understand the situations of the former Olympians, and we have presented a proposal to the government considering this matter so that we can get some funding for the former Olympians’ pensions and medical care.
“We didn’t propose a very high number of funds to the government in 2020, but we are yet to get a proper response from the government on this matter over the past three years. All these years, the government keeps saying that they are still discussing with its stakeholders.
“We have always had this plan and intention to help the former Olympians, but for us to make this happen, we need to also get as much support from the government so that we can do the necessary and help legends like Mr Wong.
Malaysia qualified for the 1972 Olympics in style – with an unbeaten record, and not conceding a single goal in their wins over Japan (3-0), South Korea (1-0), Taiwan (3-0) and the Philippines (5-0).
Aside from his playing days for the national team between 1970 to 1974, Wong also played for Perak FA from 1970 to 1972 and won the Malaysia Cup in 1970.
Upon migrating to Hong Kong, where he also worked as an electrical engineer, he turned professional and played for local league teams such as Seiko, Rangers, South China, and Caroline Hill, spanning from 1972 until 1984.
In 2004, he was inducted into the Olympic Council of Malaysia’s Hall of Fame for the 1972 Summer Olympics football team. – December 2, 2023