KUALA LUMPUR – Over the past two weeks, controversy has erupted in the Paralympics scene as Zy Lee Kher, who had earned a spot at this year’s Paris Paralympics on merit, was omitted by the Paralympic Council of Malaysia (PCM).
This decision has sparked a feud between Zy’s father, Walter Lee, an executive member of the Malaysian Para Swimming Association (Prepma), and PCM president Datuk Seri Megat D. Shahriman Zaharudin, with each blaming and defending the other for their actions.
Walter criticised PCM and Prepma, claiming that their objectives are not aligned with their strategies, leading to his son being forced to compete for a bipartite slot despite having a higher world ranking.
In contrast, Megat and Prepma stated that the selection process for Paris was conducted transparently and without any vested interests.
The governing body’s selection criteria focused on record times, potential to win medals, the number of events the national contingent would participate in, and extraordinary achievements.
Megat also said that severe actions would be taken against Walter for tarnishing the image of PCM and Prepma.
Punishments will also be taken against Zy, who has won more than six international medals, including two bronze medals at last year’s Hangzhou Asian Para Games, for breaching the athletes’ code of conduct set by the National Sports Council (NSC).
Zy had made an emotional plea for help to Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh without consulting PCM.
Amidst these ongoing feuds, it is evident that Zy has become a victim of circumstances, with his future in the sport hanging in the balance.
Speaking to Scoop, sports analyst Mohd Sadek Mustaffa agrees with the notion that PCM should not punish Zy, as it will ruin his spirit to compete for the country in the future.
“Both the father and the PCM president are fighting, but the victim is Zy, as he has no role to play in this. Maybe he was influenced to send the plea to the minister; we never know.
“PCM has all the rights to take action against the father, but it’s not fair to punish the athlete.
“If PCM takes action against the athlete, it will ruin his competitive spirit to compete for the country in the future. Zy is only 17 years old, and he’s a disabled athlete, hence PCM should not treat him that way.
“Disabled athletes like Zy are really sensitive, so they need to be treated with care and affection, as issues like these will also affect his mental health. The boy just wants to compete and doesn’t know any of these selection processes.
“I hope that PCM will not take severe action against the boy and not kill his progress in the sport. We need to give Zy the respect he deserves, as he has won many accolades for the country,” said Sadek when contacted.
Sadek, a senior sports science lecturer at Universiti Teknologi Mara, also said that these issues would not have started if the International Paralympic Council (IPC) had not limited the number of participants from each country for the Paralympics.
For the record, the IPC only allows two swimming participants from each national Paralympic Council.
“To be honest, IPC guidelines are a bit outdated and they need to be re-evaluated to expand the number of participants from each country. Until they amend their guidelines and criteria, issues like these will keep persisting.
“At the same time, PCM can also come up with a fair strategy to choose the right athletes to be sent to the Paralympics in the future by organising trial competitions like how it’s done in the United States of America.
“In America, rankings don’t matter. If their athletes don’t have enough slots to compete in the Olympics or Paralympics, they organise trial competitions to ensure they select the right athletes for the games,” Sadek added.
For the record, Malaysia has two slots allocated by World Para Swimming (WPS) for the para-swimming event in Paris, and Prepma has given the slots to Nur Syaiful Zulkafli and Imaan Aiman Redzuan.
Zy was sent for a bipartite slot, but his application for the slot was unsuccessful.
According to both PCM and Prepma, the highest probability of winning a medal was held by Imaan with 96.3% based on personal best (PB) times.
Syaiful had a 95.5% probability for the Men’s SB4 100m breaststroke event.
In contrast, Zy’s probabilities were significantly lower, placing him third in the selection ranking.
This year’s Paralympics are scheduled to take place from August 28 to September 8. – July 20, 2024
