KUALA LUMPUR: Datuk Seri Megat D Shahriman Zaharudin believes that it is time national sports associations (NSA) for para sports are given a bigger role in Malaysia.
The Malaysia Paralympic Council (MPC) president claimed that unlike able-bodied sports, the National Sports Council (NSC) currently dictates the majority of the para programmes at the elite and high-performance levels.
"NSC have been encroaching on what are essentially NSAs' responsibilities when it comes to managing national athletes, then what is the point of having NSAs?" said Shahriman when contacted recently.
"They (NSC) are not members of any international federations or the International Paralympic Council, they only come to NSAs when they need to get something signed before sending athletes to a competition.
"They make the majority of the decisions when it comes to managing the athletes, not the NSAs. They are able to do this because all the funding (from government) goes to them.
"National coaches, some of whom are recommended by the NSAs, are often left in a dilemma because it is as if they have two 'bosses' but one is stronger, because they are the paymaster (NSC).
"And when our athletes do not perform in competitions, NSC does not want to be held accountable.
"This is the doctrine that has been set in place by the former NSC leadership and if this does not change, we will never progress.
"Malaysia has some of the best infrastructure in the world for sports and also has money, the problem is with bureaucracy."
Shahriman added that his request for RM15 million funding from the government recently may have been misconstrued by the Youth and Sports Ministry.
A RM230 million allocation for sports was announced under the 2025 budget, though it was not disclosed how much will go to para sports.
"The Minister (Hannah Yeoh) said that the allocation (under 2025 budget) will go to NSC and National Youth and Sports Department directly and essentially told us (MPC) to find our own funding," said Shahriman.
"I think she misunderstood us, the RM15 million we are asking for is not for MPC to use. It is for us to channel to the 25 associations under us.
"This is for the 25 national associations to disburse to the 14 state associations under them to conduct grassroots programmes throughout the year.
"NSC does sometimes give some funding to conduct tournaments but it is nowhere near sufficient to help identify and nurture the next generation of talent for Malaysia. We need to have better, more consistent programmes at the grassroots level."
Shahriman has been vocal since being elected MPC president in December 2019 and vows to continue fighting for better support for para sports in the country.
"I don't know why I am considered the baddest person in Malaysian sport when I actually follow all the policies set in place by the Ministry," said Shahriman.
"All I am doing is voicing my opinions and concerns. There is no point in me being a leader if I cannot achieve any improvements in para sports."