KUALA LUMPUR: The Terengganu government's ban on female Muslim divers over their attire is concerning, says the Youth and Sports Minister.
Hannah Yeoh said the state government's directive can impact sports development in the country.
This comes after Terengganu's Youth and Sports executive councillor Hishamuddin Abdul Karim said he was shocked by reports that two Muslim girls represented the state in diving at the recent Malaysia Games (Sukma).
Hishammuddin had said the Terengganu Sports Council took a stand that Muslim women cannot represent the state in diving as the necessary attire did not meet Terengganu's dress code for Muslim athletes.
Yeoh said the two divers, Uzlifatil Jannah Ashraf and Ilyssa Ixora Imran, will now be placed under the Malaysian Sports School programme which comes under Putrajaya's purview.
In the recent Sukma, Uzlifatil won two bronze medals, while Ilyssa won one bronze.
"The ministry is concerned that the state government's directive to prohibit female athletes from participating in certain sports may hinder the potential of many young athletes," said Yeoh in a Facebook post.
"National diving technical director, Bryan Nickson Lomas, has identified these divers for potential inclusion in the national backup programme next year, provided they continue to show improvement in several upcoming competitions."
"I believe their talents will continue to be developed before being selected for the national-level programme in the future."
She said she hoped the Terengganu government would not discriminate against Uzlifatil and Ilyssa in giving them incentives for their medal victories at the recent Sukma.
Yeoh also said that for the record, every Sukma participant must go through a registration process approved by their respective state's sports council.
In 2018, Terengganu made it a requirement athletes representing the state to wear shariah-compliant clothing.
It later banned Muslim women from gymnastic events because of non-shariah-compliant outfits.