KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 19 — Jelinie Empera will have to waive her records and two gold medals at the Sukma Games in Perlis in May.

“Yes, I am aware (Jelinie tested positive for steroids). She will be stripped of her medals,” Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said.

“(The) Weightlifting Federation will take disciplinary action against her.”

National Sports Institute chief executive officer, Datuk Dr Ramlan Aziz, said it was “worrying” to see more Sukma athletes failing such random tests.

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“We hardly hear of any cases among the elite athletes but such nonsense still exists at Sukma level and this is worrying,” said Dr Ramlan.

“Jelinie’s case also shows that even young athletes are not spared in the pursuit of getting medals.”
Dr Ramlan had called on the Malaysian Weightlifting Federation to conduct a thorough investigation to find out who had aided, abetted or even forced the 21-year-old Sarawakian to take the banned substance.

“Even the state sports council must take charge and monitor their athletes closely.”
In 2005, weightlifter Amirul Hamizan Ibrahim was banned for two years after failing an out-of-competition dope test.

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On May 24, 2011, six sprinters — Siti Fatima Mohamad, Siti Zubaidah Abadi, Yee Yi Ling, Norjannah Hafiszah, Nurul Sarah Abdul Kadir and Noor Imran Abdul Hadi — failed to turn up for a random anti-doping test. Malay Mail, in its front page story on May 27 the same year, exposed that the athletes had consumed pink tablets.

It was later revealed that three of the athletes were instructed by their former coach to “bring someone else’s urine” for the medical test and also advised them to “wear baggy pants so that the urine sample could be hidden”. The trio also admitted to taking the pink tablets in addition to other various pills.

The national men’s 4x400m relay team was also stripped of their 2011 Sea Games title after sprinter Yunus Lasaleh tested positive for a banned substance.