KUALA LUMPUR – The Malaysian Para Swimming Association (Prepma) is set to terminate national para swimmer Zy Lee Kher’s father, Walter Lee, from his role as an executive member for allegedly abusing his position by receiving funds for his son.
The council’s response follows allegations that Walter was collecting sponsorship money in cash and kind from stakeholders in both Prepma and the Paralympic Council of Malaysia (PCM) to aid Zy in his preparation for this year’s Paris Paralympics.
The 17-year-old Zy, who has won more than six international medals, including two bronze medals at last year’s Hangzhou Asian Para Games, was recently omitted by the PCM from this year’s Paralympics despite earning a spot on merit.
Speaking to Scoop, Prepma president Datuk Seri Megat D. Shahriman Zaharudin, who is also the president of PCM, said he had been receiving complaints from association stakeholders that Walter had been soliciting funding and instructing it to be transferred to his son’s foundation, the Zy Movement Foundation.
The foundation, located in Bangkok, was established in 2009 to improve the quality of life for children with physical disabilities in Thailand and Southeast Asia.
“I have been receiving complaints from my stakeholders, and I have to be answerable for Walter’s actions. It’s not right for someone who has been a part of Prepma’s executive committee to misuse his position and collect money from our stakeholders on behalf of his son.
“There are no issues with collecting money for his son, but he should have looked at other avenues to get the money, not through PCM or Prepma, as it tarnishes our reputation.
“With Walter engaging in these activities, it indirectly brings a bad name to our associations. We need to be firm about this to prevent it from happening in the future. We can forgive past controversies, but if he’s found guilty of taking money from our stakeholders, we will not forgive him.
“We will definitely take stern action if the allegations are proven true after our internal investigations. He may face the risk of losing his role in Prepma if found guilty,” said Megat when contacted.
When Scoop asked Walter for his comment on the allegations, he said that both PCM and Prepma should focus on explaining their modules instead of distracting the public with misinformation.
“Please stick to providing explanations on the probability selection module rather than distracting others.
“Please substantiate all allegations and prove that they will be held in court.
“This is a strive for fair play in sports, not a pissing war. Suggest practice constraint and professionalism in all aspects,” Walter told Scoop briefly in a text message.
At a press conference yesterday, Walter also firmly refuted the allegations, stating that he is not making an issue because of monetary sponsorships in cash and kind, which he is now unable to repay since Zy cannot compete in the Paris Paralympics.
“Zy has no sponsorships, and this is more about transparency and fair play in how these associations choose the athletes to send to Paris,” said Walter.
For the record, the International Paralympic Committee only allows two swimming participants from each national Paralympic Council.
Malaysia has two slots allocated by World Para Swimming (WPS) for the para-swimming event in Paris, and Prepma has given these 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, Imaan has a 96.3% probability of winning a medal based on personal best (PB) times, while Syaiful has 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.
PCM is expected to send the final list of athletes competing in Paris by August 2.
This year’s Paralympics are scheduled to take place from August 28 to September 8. – August 1, 2024
