KUALA LUMPUR: A former athletics official has taken issue with state delegates who often toe the line or stay silent for fear of backlash from the higher-ups within Malaysia Athletics (MA).
S. Rajasegram, a former council member of the national athletics body and ex-Johor Amateur Athletics secretary, said it is a common frustration in sports administration when politics and self-preservation override accountability and transparency.
“The structure of many national sports associations often makes it difficult to challenge the status quo from within,” he told Twentytwo13.
“Several systemic issues in sports governance frequently lead to this “playing safe” mentality.”
He highlighted several barriers to good governance, including constitutional loopholes, where older sports constitutions lack strict term limits, allowing officials to entrench themselves in power for decades.
He also noted that voting alliances enable top leaders to maintain their positions by securing the loyalty of state affiliates through funding, perks, or patronage, making it difficult for reformists to gather enough votes.
“There is also the fear of reprisal. State delegates or lower-tier council members often stay quiet or fall in line to protect their own funding, state athlete programs, or committee appointments.
“Then there are bureaucratic delays. Regulatory bodies like the Sports Commissioner’s Office often face legal hurdles when trying to intervene, as heavy-handed state interference can trigger international bans from global bodies like World Athletics.
“Ultimately, meaningful change in these setups usually only happens when international parent bodies force a mandatory constitutional overhaul, or when public pressure and media scrutiny become too loud to ignore,” he added.
Rajasegram added that after serving for two decades as a council member of the Malaysia Amateur Athletics Union and later the Malaysia Athletics Federation, as the national body was known then, he feels the Sports Development Act 1997 is ineffective against sports politicking within MA.
“The development of athletics is actually done by the state sports council and the National Sports Council, and supported by the Malaysia Schools Sports Council (MSSM),” he added.
MA was recently embroiled in a governance crisis that saw its president, Datuk Karim Ibrahim, announce on May 6 that he would relinquish his post. Karim had come under tremendous pressure to step down due to his ineligibility under World Athletics rules.
The sport has also hogged the limelight for the wrong reasons due to a lack of development programmes organised by state associations, resulting in a dearth of athletes capable of competing beyond the SEA Games.
