KUALA LUMPUR, April 23 — The National Sports Council (NSC) has denied the involvement of its director-general, Jefri Ngadirin, in any programme or activity run by a badminton academy that allegedly offered programme participation while demanding a large amount of payment.

The NSC said that Jefri’s name and photograph had been misused by irresponsible parties who linked him to the programme.

According to the NSC, neither it nor Jefri has any connection, involvement or relationship with the programme or activity.

“The NSC has never appointed, authorised or recognised any individual or group to use the NSC name, identity or image for the purpose of collecting payments for any sports activity.

“The NSC views this misuse seriously, and a police report has been lodged to enable a thorough investigation.

“The NSC will not hesitate to take strict action, including legal action, against any party found to be involved in such fraudulent activities in order to protect NSC’s interests and reputation,” it said in a statement today.

Meanwhile, the NSC also advised the public to check the authenticity of information related to the agency through its official channels and not to make any payments to any party claiming to represent NSC without verification through official channels.

It also reminded those who had been victims of such scams to immediately lodge a police report and to contact their respective financial institutions for further action.

“The NSC will continue to take proactive measures to curb such activities and protect the interests of the public and the organisation’s reputation,” it added. — Bernama