Malaysia athletics honours past greats with incentive payments

KUALA LUMPUR - Malaysia Athletics (MA) settled the payment of reward incentives to former track and field athletes who were once named National Sportsman and Sportswoman during their respective golden eras.

The total cash reward of RM65,000 was presented to the former athletes involved at the 2026 Malaysia Athletics Awards Night held here yesterday.

Among the athletes who received the incentive were Tan Sri Dr M Jegathesan, Gladys Chai Ng Mei, Khoo Chong Beng, V. Subramaniam, Datuk Rabuan Pit, Datuk M. Rajamani and Datuk Zaiton Othman.

Rajamani expressed gratitude for finally receiving the incentive after six decades.

"The wait has been very long and the value of the money has also depreciated. Nevertheless, I thank MA for still appreciating our contributions,” she said.

Meanwhile, Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) president Tan Sri Mohamad Norza Zakaria, who presented the incentives, said the services and sacrifices of former athletes deserved to be remembered.

"They may have been lacking in terms of preparation and incentives, but they were rich in sacrifice, struggle and the spirit of patriotism.

"Sometimes the mission was seen as impossible, but they were the ones who proved that the impossible could be achieved with strength of character and motivation,” he said.

At the same event, MA also presented incentives totalling RM32,500 to national track and field athletes who broke national records from 2022 to 2025. - BERNAMA