KUALA LUMPUR, July 27 — Youth and Sports Minister Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman is leaving it completely to the newly-appointed Sports Commissioner, Dr Wirdawati Mohd Radzi to solve all disputes that have been plaguing several national sports associations of late.
Citing the crisis in the Malaysian Paralympic Council (MPM) which had caused its elections to be postponed, Syed Saddiq said his ministry could not interfere in MPM’s domestic affairs or it will face suspension from the International Paralympic Committee (IPC).
“I think it is better for her (Dr Wirdawati) to scrutinise the problems, case by case, before I make (further) comments.
“As for the ministry, our focus is to ensure the wellbeing of our athletes, and if the problems persist, I will ensure that appropriate action will be taken.
“For now, I leave it to the Sports Commissioner, as an independent entity, to solve all the disputes,” he told reporters before presenting the prizes to the winners of the under-12 Yakult Global Cup 2019 grand final playoff here today.
Apart from MPM, several other national sports associations, including the Malaysia Wheelchair Rugby Federation, Malaysia Ice Hockey federation, Malaysian Sepak Takraw Association and Malaysia Karate Federation, were also reported to have been plagued by domestic crises.
For the record, Syed Saddiq announced the appointment of Dr Wirdawati as the new Sports Commissioner on July 2 to replace Datuk Zaiton Othman whose contract ended on March 8.
Meanwhile, Kedah Warriors won the Yakult Global Cup grand final playoff after defeating Fireball FC 1-0.
The win also enabled 15 Kedah Warriors players and seven jury-selected best players to represent Malaysia at the Yakult Global Cup 2019 tournament in J-Green Sakai, Osaka, Japan from Sept 14 to 16.
The seven jury-selected players are Muhd Adam Haikal, Muhd Ayish Al-Hakim, Ahmad Zamil Zakuan, Rayyan Izan, Adham Haikal, Muhd Danish Faisal and Mohd Danish Azmi.
Ahmad Zamil Zakuan from the Dream Team was also named Best Player.
A total of 16 under-12 football teams participated in the selection play-off competition organised by Yakult (M) Sdn Bhd. — Bernama
