PETALING JAYA: The Youth and Sports Ministry have expressed their concern in regards to the Terengganu government’s restriction on female athletes involvement in certain sports.
Hannah Yeoh said this in a Facebook post today (Aug 28) following Terengganu’s Youth and Sports executive councillor Hishamuddin Abdul Karim who said he was shocked by reports that two Muslim girls represented the state in diving at the recent Malaysia Games (Sukma).
“The ministry is concerned that the state government’s directive to prohibit the involvement of female athletes in certain fields may hinder the potential of many young athletes who have proven to be talented, and may negatively impact the overall development of sports in the country.
“KBS Malaysia hopes that the Terengganu state government will not discriminate in awarding victory incentives to these two divers, as they have also contributed medals to the Terengganu state contingent.”
She also added that the female divers from Terengganu will continue their daily training at the Malaysian Sports School under the federal government’s supervision.
“I believe their talents will continue to be nurtured before they are selected for the national program in the future,” said Yeoh.
According to her, the national diving technical director, Bryan Nickson, has identified these divers to be considered for the national development program next year, provided they continue to show improvement in upcoming competitions.
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