KUALA LUMPUR – Two National Sports Associations (NSAs), reportedly para associations, could face severe repercussions if found guilty of filing a complaint about last month’s Paralympic Council of Malaysia’s (PCM) 2025–2029 annual general meeting (AGM) without first exhausting internal procedures within PCM.
This comes after reports emerged that the associations had authorised lawyer Datuk Michael Wong to request the nullification of the AGM, held on December 15, from the Sports Commissioner’s Office.
Sports Commissioner Suhardi Alias, in a brief statement, confirmed that his office would not annul the AGM until ongoing investigations by the relevant authorities are concluded.
A reliable source told Scoop that PCM members must thoroughly investigate any grievances internally before escalating matters to external authorities, such as the police, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), or the Sports Commissioner’s Office.
“So far, PCM has not received any communication regarding a report being lodged against the AGM. There has been no word from the police, MACC, or the Sports Commissioner’s Office.
“Even Datuk Shapawi has accepted the outcome of the AGM. The election process was discussed and approved by the floor, so I failed to see the alleged irregularities.
“However, I must emphasise that these associations could face serious sanctions if it is found that they lodged baseless complaints without first exhausting all avenues within PCM,” the source said.
For context, a day before the election, PCM president Datuk Seri Megat D Shahriman Zaharudin lodged a report with the MACC, alleging that former National Sports Council (NSC) director-general Datuk Ahmad Shapawi Ismail and NSC para division director Mohd Sofian Hamzah had bribed their way into securing nominations for the election.
Megat, who was seeking re-election, subsequently retained his presidency, defeating Shapawi by 14 votes to 10.
While Shapawi did not challenge the electoral outcome, he recently lodged a police report against Megat under Section 500 of the Penal Code for criminal defamation.
Following this, Michael, who represented Shapawi, disclosed that he had been mandated by two NSAs to approach the Sports Commissioner’s Office to annul the AGM.
Although Michael did not name the associations, he claimed they had raised concerns about irregularities in the nomination process and alleged that some AGM procedures were not in compliance with PCM’s constitution.
Michael, who is also the former president of the Malaysian Canoe Association (MASCA), told reporters that he planned to file a formal report with the Sports Commissioner’s Office this week. — January 6, 2025
