KUALA LUMPUR – The Malaysia Lawn Bowls Federation (MLBF) has expressed dissatisfaction with the Youth and Sports Ministry and the National Sports Council (NSC) for not providing a clear direction regarding its inclusion in the temporary Podium Programme.
Under this arrangement, the NSC dictates the tournaments in which athletes participate, with each needing approval or recognition from the council.
Speaking to Scoop, MLBF president Datuk Awalan Abdul Aziz said that the federation is still unclear about which tournaments will be sanctioned by the NSC.
Over the past year, since their removal from the Podium Programme, Awalan mentioned that the MLBF has had to cover all expenses, amounting to approximately RM1 million, including costs for player accommodation, food, and training.
“We still don’t have a clear understanding of what the temporary Podium Programme entails or how it will proceed. To this day, no one has updated us on any developments.
“Lawn bowls has consistently secured international medals while being part of the Podium Programme for years. The significance lies not just in the medal colour but in our unwavering success.
“However, there is a disparity in interpretation by the NSC as they solely judge our athletes’ inclusion based on their performance in multi-sport events.
“We can’t simply dance to their tune and follow their instructions on which tournaments we should or shouldn’t join. Preparing for these tournaments is costly and involves significant expenses. We are not given a choice in the tournaments we can select, hence we are unclear about their exact direction.
“I am also disappointed with Minister Hannah Yeoh and her team for not taking this sport seriously. They included us in the temporary Podium Programme only for the sake of inclusion.
“There’s no point in posting about our athletes’ successes on social media when her team is not doing much to help us secure what we need, which is a full-time podium programme,” said Awalan.
For context, the exclusion of lawn bowlers by the NSC from the Podium Programme was attributed to their failure to meet targets at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.
In September last year, Nur Ain Nabilah Tarmizi and Aleena Ahmad Nawawi made history by securing the country’s first women’s pairs gold at the World Bowls Championships in Australia.
According to the World Bowls rankings, Malaysia’s men’s team is ranked fourth out of 65 countries, while the women’s team is ranked fifth. – August 10, 2024