KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia have many sport personalities who can helm the Podium Programme, especially in management, and there is no need for foreign help.
This was stated by former Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) secretary general Datuk Sieh Kok Chi, who also alleged that Malaysia has been “fooled” by foreign officials hired for the Podium Programme as no positive development has come out of it yet.
Kok Chi said this when asked to comment on Sports Minister Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman’s move to restructure the Podium Programme.
This includes the possible termination of the services of some of the officials in the programme after the Asian Games in a move to cut costs.
"I have made my stand on this issue previosuly. There is no problem in hiring foreign coaches to train athletes, but for management and other services, we don't need foreign help.
"Last time we hired Keith Power as director of High Performance Sports. What did he do during his tenure? When he was first hired, he promised to uplift the standards of our athletes but even before his contract expired, he ran away (resigned).
"Moreover, when we hire ‘outside help’ for important positions, we need to pay them high salaries. I have been told that their salaries are in the range of RM50,000 monthly but what are the programmes that they have done?
"There seems to be no difference in what they have done as compared to what has been done before... they are all liars!" said Kok Chi when contacted yesterday.
Kok Chi, who has served for 25 years in the OCM, agreed with the sports minister's plans.
"We had Jaya ‘98 headed by Datuk Mazlan Ahmad (former National Sports Council director general) and it was a success story.
"Malaysia finished an amazing fourth overall after winning 10 gold medals in the 1998 Commonwealth Games.
"This is the best evidence. So, let’s give locals a chance to helm the Podium Programme as many are qualified and are just waiting for a break to start," said Kok Chi.