Sports Ministry not serious about athletes, says Pas Youth chief after Azizulhasni’s revelation

SHAH ALAM - The revelation by national cyclist Datuk Azizulhasni Awang about the Youth and Sports Ministry's (KBS) attitude towards his career path to the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games (LA28) is rather shocking.

Pas Youth chief Afnan Hamimi Taib Azamudden said it shows KBS is not particularly serious about managing a high-performance athlete who still has the ability to compete on the world stage.

According to him, based on Azizulhasni’s lengthy explanation, the issue is not about him personally.

“KBS needs to make a decision on whether Azizulhasni’s service and experience are still needed or not.

“If needed, sort it out immediately. If not, tell him outright. He has a wife and children to provide for and financial commitments to manage.

“We don’t want KBS to let a golden opportunity towards LA28 slip away when it’s right in front of them in a high-performance sport like this,” he said in a Facebook post on Sunday.

Previously, Azizulhasni described KBS and the National Sports Council (MSN) as lacking professionalism and efficiency for taking two months and five days to give a concrete decision on his service for the LA28 Olympic qualifying mission.

In a nine-page explanation posted on social media yesterday, the former world champion said the delay had made it difficult for him to plan his career direction, including preparations for important races offering qualifying points for LA28.

Afnan Hamimi added that this was especially concerning given Azizulhasni’s ability and experience, ranked among the top twenty athletes in the world in the sport.

He said if KBS decides to choose another, younger athlete, it should prepare for that immediately.

“Channel the existing allocation to that young athlete, if there is one.

“Another issue raised is where the RM9.3 million allocation for the national track cycling development programme, as announced earlier, has gone?

“Azizulhasni stated he only received RM100,000 this year from a grant of RM200,000 for 2025 and 2026,” he remarked.

He felt KBS should transparently detail how the RM9.3 million was distributed.

“To what programmes, which athletes and what are the performance targets,” he said.

Afnan Hamimi also hoped the Minister would address this issue urgently.

“If the honourable minister (YB) can dive into the sea to clean up rubbish, with excellent, high-quality video footage, I’m confident the YB can also dive into this issue just as swiftly.

“Just make sure to use original footage,” he said.