KUALA LUMPUR – The Paralympic Council of Malaysia (PCM) has pledged to fulfill its promise by disbursing a total of RM210,000 in incentives to athletes who won medals for Malaysia at the Paris Paralympics.
The governing body’s response came after national para shot putter Ziyad Zolkefli, who won a silver medal at the Paris Paralympics, told Scoop that he was disappointed with PCM for not fulfilling its promise, following PCM president Datuk Seri Megat D. Shahriman Zaharudin’s announcement in August regarding the incentives.
Earlier, it was reported that Megat said that athletes who secure medals in Paris would be rewarded with extra incentives from his governing body.
The incentive was reportedly backed by three unnamed companies, offering RM20,000 for a gold medal, RM10,000 for silver, and RM5,000 for bronze. There were also discussions about providing a car for the gold medalist.
Speaking to Scoop, Megat said that the governing body has never failed to fulfill its promises to its athletes and has so far managed to secure funds from two of the three unnamed companies.
Megat also said that the first payment to the athletes would be disbursed right after the Paris Paralympics post-mortem with the Youth and Sports Ministry and the National Sports Council (NSC).
“We will ensure that all outstanding arrears are settled within the next few months. At PCM, we always value the hard work and dedication shown by our athletes, and we have consistently delivered on our promises.
“We acknowledge that there was a delay in receiving the sponsorship funds from the three companies, and we recently had a discussion with the NSC, who helped us inform the medal winners from the Paris Paralympics.
“With that, the issue has now been resolved. We are grateful to the government for providing their portion of the incentives for our athletes, and it’s now our turn to fulfill our commitments.
“Of the three companies, we have already obtained funds from two, and we will initiate the first payment after the Paralympics post-mortem. We will settle the remaining payments to the athletes once we receive the funds from the third company,” said Megat when contacted.
Aside from Ziyad, the Malaysian contingent in Paris, which consisted of 30 athletes, also saw Cheah Liek Hou (gold), Bonnie Bunyau Gustin (gold), Datuk Abdul Latif Romly (silver), and Eddy Bernard (bronze) winning medals for the country. – November 14, 2024