In 2021, Datuk Shalin Zulkifli said goodbye to the sport she loved – bowling.
Having spent three decades on the lanes, she was one of Malaysia’s iconic athletes who went on to become a household name in the Southeast Asian nation.
However, her transition from athlete wasn’t easy. And today, she is assisting younger athletes in making that shift – from hitting the headlines to playing a role behind the scenes – as the head of the Malaysian Athlete Career and Education (MACE) secretariat of the National Sports Council (NSC).
MACE serves athletes by providing guidance and opportunities in their education, career, and welfare.
“Sometimes athletes are somewhat egoistic because when you compete you have to have that character and can’t be seen as soft or otherwise people will lose respect,” said Shalin, on the podcast Julang recently.
“But once they are off the field (no longer competing), they find it difficult to ask for assistance. When it comes to competition, seeking help is easy. But when it comes to their private life, they feel lost.”
Shalin said it was only natural for then NSC director-general Datuk Ahmad Shapawi Ismail to offer her the MACE gig.
“I guess that was the reason why I’m placed at MACE – the athletes know that I’ve gone through what they’ve gone through … the transition, the retirement, getting a job, business … an athlete can relate to another athlete.
“If it was an outsider (a non-athlete heading MACE), the athletes may have the perception that this person may not be able to relate to them. It’s not really accurate, but you know young athletes – they are not exposed to the outside world and the working environment, thus their approach and perspectives are different compared to others (non-athletes).”
Shalin explained several ministries offer scholarships to athletes, namely the Education Ministry, Higher Education Ministry, and the Youth and Sports Ministry.
“These scholarships are given out to current athletes. But we have, as an example, gymnasts who retire early – in their early 20s. They are caught in between, as they are no longer considered athletes upon retirement, despite being young.
“We’ve raised this predicament with the Youth and Sports Minister, Hannah Yeoh. So this year, we will make some improvements to the Youth and Sports Ministry’s scholarship to include ex-athletes and coaches.”
The scholarship is open to any athlete who has represented Malaysia at any level, and in any tournament. Shalin added even private higher learning institutions now offer scholarships to athletes – something that was non-existent when she first started bowling in the 90s.
She said it is compulsory for Malaysian athletes to undergo six hours of training by MACE annually. The training sessions cover education and life after sports.
“If we offered them a choice (to undergo the training), the young athletes will say no. They will not plan for their retirement unlike how they plan for a tournament – until they retire, and only then they ask themselves ‘What should I do now?’. So they are now forced to attend. All athletes under NSC’s contract must clock in the six hours, as it’s part of their contract.”
She added that MACE tries to solve problems that surfaced in the past, including ensuring athletes are prepared for their scholarship interviews and finding a suitable career path upon retiring from sports.
Catch the full episode of Julang on YouTube.
