A sports lawyer has called for the introduction of a Sports Integrity Act to show that Malaysia and the guardians of sports are serious about promoting integrity.
The call comes as Malaysian sports reels from the ‘doctoring documents‘ fiasco, which allowed seven ‘heritage’ footballers to play for the nation, and the controversial election of Datuk Karim Ibrahim as president of Malaysia Athletics despite a lifetime ban from World Athletics.
On Oct 29, Sports Ministry secretary-general Datuk Dr K. Nagulendran said the Sports Development Act 1997 will be amended to include provisions on anti-doping and sports integrity, with the amendments expected to be tabled in the Dewan Rakyat next year.
Lawyer Richard Wee said a standalone Sports Integrity Act would be more effective in addressing unethical behaviour and weeding out unsuitable officials.
“The Youth and Sports Ministry might want to revisit this and focus specifically on sports integrity, especially in light of recent events, rather than just including new provisions under the Sports Development Act,” said Wee.
“We must ensure whoever is in power is doing it for the right reasons – to develop the sport, not to enrich themselves or their families. Many associations keep recycling the same officials for 10, 20, even 25 years, but what are the results? There are some associations that are well run, but we keep hearing about integrity issues time and again.”
Two days ago, Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh said the proposed amendments will also strengthen the powers of the Sports Commissioner and the minister.
Wee, however, said the priority should be creating an independent Sports Integrity Agency, deriving its powers under the Sports Integrity Act.
“Right now, the Sports Commissioner’s Office is very much a government agency under the ministry. What we need is an Ombudsman for sports, using the current office as a foundation,” he said.
He suggested the government consider dissolving the Sports Commissioner’s Office and introducing the new agency, which would have the authority to suspend or dissolve associations that violate local laws or misuse public funds – powers the current office does not possess.
“The agency or Ombudsman can censure an association or issue a damning statement, which could even be discussed in Parliament,” he said.
“We need structural reforms and, more importantly, behavioural and cultural reforms against bad practices in Malaysian sports. There is no use giving this Ombudsman ‘Superman’ powers if the people running national associations act for personal agendas rather than the good of the sport.”
Wee was speaking to Twentytwo13 in conjunction with the Sport Integrity Global Alliance’s (SIGA) Sport Integrity Action Month.
Twentytwo13 is SIGA’s official media partner. SIGA is a non-profit global independent organisation committed to ensuring the sport industry is governed under the highest integrity standards.
