KUALA LUMPUR — Malaysia’s national wushu coaches are under siege — not by rivals on the mat, but by the lure of greener pastures across ASEAN.
Once celebrated as the architects behind the country’s dominance in wushu, these local tacticians are now being aggressively poached by neighbouring nations, attracted by salaries that far outstrip what they earn at home.
Wushu Federation of Malaysia (WFM) president Chong Kim Fatt warned that ASEAN rivals such as Singapore, Brunei and Indonesia are offering Malaysia’s top coaching talent pay packages that are often double the local rate.
“Our coaches are being offered between US$2,000 (RM7,772) and US$2,500 (RM9,715) per month, while here they earn only RM4,000 to RM6,000,” he said.
“This is a serious drain on our talent, and it threatens the development of wushu in Malaysia.”
Kim Fatt stressed that Malaysia must act quickly to retain its homegrown coaching expertise.
“We have to raise the salaries of our local coaches. Personally, I feel they should be paid at least RM8,000, whether they are coaching at the national backup or Podium Programme (elite) level.
“We hope the National Sports Council will take this matter seriously.”
The alternative — hiring foreign coaches from China to fill the gap — comes at a steep cost.
“For Podium Programme-level foreign coaches, they cost between US$8,000 (RM31,088) and US$10,000 (RM38,860) per month. For national backup-level coaches, it is between US$4,000 (RM15,544) and US$5,000 (RM19,430).
“The days when you could get them for US$2,000 to US$3,000 are long gone because China’s economy is very strong now,” Kim Fatt explained.
“If you do not meet their salary demands, they will not come. And with wushu, we need many coaches because there are so many different disciplines.”
Currently, only three coaches are managing both the national elite and backup squads, far short of the four to five coaches needed to properly cover all disciplines.
“We have received verbal approval from NSC to hire more coaches, but the challenge now is whether we can find qualified coaches within our budget,” he said.
Malaysia is not alone in facing this brain drain. It was reported that coaches in diving, squash, badminton, cycling and gymnastics are also in high demand overseas, even after NSC implemented a 30 to 40 per cent pay hike two years ago.
Many have already taken the leap, lured by better remuneration and opportunities abroad.
Despite these challenges, Kim Fatt remains focused on the nation’s competitive ambitions.
He confirmed that Malaysia is targeting at least one medal at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games (Sept 19–Oct 4), although he did not specify the colour. — February 23, 2026