Don’t look now but there’s a mini-controversy going on after the Olympic torch made its run in Malaysia.
No it isn’t about pro-Tibet activists protesting against China although there was some of that. It’s about how former Olympians were ignored by the torch relay organizers.
Isthiaq Mubarak, who represented Malaysia in Mexico, Munich, and Montreal shares his feeling about the matter:
“There were so many torch bearers who were not even part of the Olympics but were included while people like me who has been inducted into the Hall of Fame was not even considered. Where is the Olympism?”
Ahh, we gotta feel for Isthiaq. And he is not alone. Here’s Asian Games bronze medalist Rajemah Sheikh Ahmad and the wife of former Olympian Kamaruddin Maidin:
“My husband represented the country in the 1960 Rome Olympics but the Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) did not even have the courtesy to invite him to witness the run, let alone become a torchbearer. I would not mind if there were too many former Olympians that my husband had to be left out but when I saw the list, I was shocked.
Since when did astronauts, someone who went on a solo expedition to the North Pole, Inspector-General of Police, director-general of the National Sports Council, National Sports Institute and Youth and Sports Ministry secretary general and Datin Paduka Marina Mahathir became Olympians?”
Since when indeed? Those Malaysian sports authorities, they have some explaining to do.
Source: Beijing 2008
