Malaysia’s female athletes continue to shine internationally, yet women’s sport remains hampered by unequal and inadequate funding, says Selangor Rugby Union president Lim Yi Wei.
She said that despite consistent global achievements in badminton, squash and diving, women’s programmes were still sidelined in budget allocations.
The funding gap affected preparations for the upcoming SEA Games, prompting the women’s rugby team to appeal for more support. This resulted in the National Sports Council (NSC) allocating an additional RM330,000.
There were no rugby events at the 2021 and 2023 SEA Games, but the Malaysian men’s team won silver in 2019, while the women’s team took bronze.
“Hopefully, with the added funding from the NSC, our women’s team can achieve better results in Thailand,” Lim told Twentytwo13.
“Rugby has plenty of potential in Malaysia, and with proper planning and more funds, we can do well regionally.”
She highlighted athletes such as Pearly Tan and M. Thinaah (badminton), S. Sivasangari (squash), and world champions Datuk Pandelela Rinong Pamg and Cheong Jun Hoong (diving), noting that Malaysia’s female athletes have consistently delivered on the world stage.
Datuk Nicol David remains Malaysia’s most decorated athlete with eight World Championship titles in squash, while ten-pin bowlers and lawn bowlers have also reached the pinnacle of their sports.
“Malaysian female athletes have historically done well internationally, yet women’s sport remains severely underfunded,” said Lim, who played as a winger while studying in Hong Kong.
“I believe that with more equitable funding, we would see even better results.
“Funds should also be distributed more evenly, rather than concentrated on popular sports such as football and badminton.”
Lim also wants to see more women active in sport, and SRU introduced Selangor’s first women’s rugby league this year.
Five teams competed in the Selangor Sports Council–SRU League in July – Cobra Venom, UPNM Barbarians, KL Tigers RFC, Armed Forces and Sarawak Rugby.
Lim, who hopes to attract more women to rugby, said she was encouraged by the response to the league.
“We are grateful to Sarawak Rugby for sending a team and several officials as they flew in for the matches,” said Lim, a two-term assembly member for Kampung Tunku.
“To promote the sport further, we organised a friendly with Singapore in February – a full 15-a-side match, not a 7s fixture. I believe it was among the few women’s 15s matches in the region.
“In September, during the Piala Agong, we also hosted a friendly between Selangor Women XVs and Indonesia’s DKI Jakarta Women XVs.”
Lim said SRU hopes to organise more friendlies in 2026, and encouraged parents to let their children take up rugby.
“Rugby taught me strength, discipline and how to overcome adversity,” she said.
“The community has a family-like, inclusive atmosphere. With this in mind, we aim to engage more schools and assure parents that rugby is a suitable sport for boys and girls.”
Main image: Selangor Rugby Union/Facebook
