KUALA LUMPUR — Issues relating to bribery and corruption remain a prevalent problem in the sports industry today, said Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki.
Azam added that while the anti-graft body has received information on corrupt practices in the e-sports scene, longstanding corruption within other sports disciplines have yet to be resolved.
“I can’t deny it, even if it’s not about e-sports, (the issue) of corruption in sports which we’re used to hearing about is still happening.
“If we talk about sports, then and now there have been corruption issues. For example, match-fixing in football matches.
“It’s just that now, e-sports can also lead to bribery issues involving gambling (activities),” Azam told reporters after attending an event in Serdang earlier today.
Besides that, Azam said that bribery in e-sports presents its own set of challenges to authorities as digital transactions involving bitcoin and cryptocurrency complicate attempts to detect the money trail.
He added that MACC has engaged the Youth and Sports Ministry and certain sports associations after the commission received information on corruption in the e-sports industry.
“We haven’t opened any cases (to look into corruption in the e-sports community), but we have to be prepared to avoid getting caught unaware when something does happen.”
In December, Deputy Youth and Sports Minister Adam Adli Abdul Halim said that corruption within the sports industry must be addressed for Malaysian athletes to realise their full potential.
Local sports fraternity top-guns had subsequently slammed the “sweeping statement”, instead pointing to a lack of government funding as the cause behind the country’s low gold medal tally. — September 6, 2023