KUALA LUMPUR – The Wushu Federation of Malaysia (WFM) has made a drastic decision by terminating all forms of cooperation with the Higher Education Ministry’s Sports Section with immediate effect.
The federation’s president, Datuk Chong Kim Fatt, said the decision meant that it would not participate in any tournament organised by the Sports Section, which is under the ministry’s strategic planning division, including games such as the World University Games (Universiade) and the Asean University Games hereafter.
He claimed that one of the issues that made the wushu federation “lose patience” since starting to work together in 2012 was that the Sports Section did not send a letter of request to the federation as the governing body to list the national wushu athletes and did not even express appreciation to the federation when its exponents returned home with proud successes at any tournament or sports events.
“Although wushu athletes often win medals in various sports competitions ‘organised’ by the Sports Section, including the success of winning the first gold medal in the history of participation in the Universiade since 1985, they did not even send any letter of appreciation to WFM.
“It is as though the successes are purely the result of their (Sports Section) efforts alone. Such an attitude and action is completely disrespectful and disrespectful to WFM,” he said at a press conference here today.
In July this year, wushu exponent Tammy Tan Hui Ling made history when she ended a 38-year wait by winning Malaysia’s first gold medal at the Universiade in Chengdu, China after topping the women’s Qiangshu (spear) with a score of 9,613 points.
Not only that, Kim Fatt said the Sports Section never contributed to the development of wushu sports, including in terms of attire and equipment for the wushu training programme.
“Although the Sports Section only borrowed athletes and coaches from WFM and the National Sports Council all this time, they have never thanked or appreciated our role and contribution,” he said.
In that regard, Kim Fatt said the federation will look for other partners to develop wushu sports in Malaysia after ending cooperation with the ministry’s Sports Section.
Meanwhile, the Sports Section’s deputy secretary, Datuk Pekan Ramli, when contacted said he was ready to meet the wushu federation to clarify the situation for the good of the country’s wushu athletes. – October 19, 2023