SEPANG – The Malaysian Paralympic Council has assured that there will be no unauthorised individuals or misuse of accreditation cards within the national contingent for the Paris Paralympics, which starts on August 28.
Council president Datuk Seri Megat D. Shahriman Zaharudin explained that, for this edition, the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) has allocated 32 accreditation cards to the Malaysian contingent.
These cards will be used by team officials and coaches.
The IPC allocated the 32 accreditation cards based on the size of the Malaysian contingent, which includes 30 athletes competing in eight sports.
Additionally, Megat clarified that he personally secured an extra five accreditation slots.
One slot is due to his capacity as president of the Malaysian Paralympic Council, and another comes from his role in the Asian Paralympic Committee.
The remaining three slots were provided by international sports federations.
Malaysian Paralympic Council secretary-general and the Malaysian contingent’s chef de mission, Datuk R. Subramaniam, also received an additional slot.
Megat emphasised that he has the authority to bring anyone he chooses to Paris, and this extra slot does not affect the allocation of accreditation cards for coaches.
“There are no issues with accreditation cards or missing coaches; everything is fully sorted. We have a complete team with 30 athletes and 32 officials, including medical personnel, National Sports Council representatives, and support staff.
“As for me, I have the quota to bring anyone I choose. Whether it’s a family member or not, I can bring them along.
“Due to my role in the Asian Paralympic Committee and additional quotas provided by various international federations, I have the highest number of quotas among Malaysian presidents.
“I use these quotas judiciously, always prioritising the needs of the athletes.
“Initially, our (Paralympic council) secretariat had two members, but we reduced that number to prioritise the support staff heading to Paris. Our goal is to bring home four gold medals and hopefully achieve some surprises along the way,“ said Megat during the send-off ceremony for the national Paralympic athletes at Kuala Lumpur International Airport today.
Previously, there was a dispute involving national badminton player Goh Jin Wei, whose request to bring her coach, Nova Armada, to Paris was not approved by the Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM).
However, Nova was already committed to training Jin Wei’s teammate, Cheah Liek Hou, who is focused on defending his gold medal at the Paris Paralympics.
The situation was further complicated by accusations against OCM president Tan Sri Mohamad Norza Zakaria, who was alleged to have brought his family to Paris while denying Jin Wei the right to bring her coach.
However, Norza’s family was granted guest passes, not the accreditation cards used by athletes and coaches.
These accreditation cards provide access to the sports village and competition venues, which were not available to Norza’s family. – August 23, 2024