NEW Malaysian Athletics (MA) president Datuk Karim Ibrahim has advised the country’s athletes not to be afraid when facing any crisis or issue that arises.
Karim stressed that the association will stand firmly behind athletes who are the ‘heart’ of the country’s athletics progress.
He said that it is not right for athletes to be sidelined just because of external issues that may affect their focus on the track or field.
“I want to tell athletes not to suffer in fear. I will defend athletes and will not sideline them,“ he said when met recently.
The country’s athletics have been embroiled in the issue of training boycott conducted by MA technical director Robert Ballard and it was among the matters which received media attention this year.
The media previously reported that several sprinters had decided to boycott Ballard’s training programme and had been threatened with expulsion from the programme if they expressed dissatisfaction with the Australian’s management style.
Karim, who is also the Perak Amateur Athletics Association president, returned to the leadership of the MA for the 2025-2029 term, after winning the election of the governing body at the annual general meeting (AGM) on June 15.
Karim, who had held the position from 2014 to 2019, managed to secure 25 votes to defeat his challenger, Negeri Sembilan Athletics president Datuk Mark William Ling, who obtained 14 votes.
He also expressed his commitment to providing more exposure to the country’s athletes to help them achieve success at the international level.
Regarding the target for the 2025 SEA Games in Thailand, Karim said the MA would strive to ensure that athletes could surpass the five gold medals won during the 2023 SEA Games in Cambodia.
He said that MA needs to look at the data and statistics of other Southeast Asian contenders first before announcing the target medals they want to bring home from Thailand.
The 2025 SEA Games is scheduled to be held in Bangkok, Chonburi and Songkhla from Dec 9 to 20.
