KUALA LUMPUR, May 23 — The Malaysian contingent to the Asean Para Games (APG) 2023 in Cambodia early next month, is ready to put up excellent performance to ease the disappointment of the country’s sports fans.

Paralympic Council of Malaysia (PCM) president Datuk Seri Megat D. Shahriman Zaharudin said after the disappointing performance of the national camp at the 32nd SEA Games in Phnom Penh recently, the responsibility of bringing success must now be shouldered by about 140 national para athletes.

"I believe with the same team as (the edition) in Solo, Indonesia (last year), and the addition of new athletes, we won’t disappoint the country, we will do our best. It’s not a burden, I think it’s our responsibility for the country after what happened at the SEA Games.

"However, if anything happens that makes it impossible to achieve the desired results... we will take full responsibility even though we may make our own plans but God will decide. We have no problems and will not point the finger at anyone, we will ensure that our weaknesses are fixed,” he told Bernama.

At the 2022 APG held in Solo, Indonesia, the Malaysian contingent represented by only about 70 athletes performed brilliantly to bring home 36 gold, 20 silver and 13 bronze medals.

At the Cambodia SEA Games which took place from May 5 to 17, Malaysia represented by more than 600 athletes took seventh place after collecting 34 gold, 45 silver and 97 bronze medals.

It was the worst performance of the national contingent in the history of the biennial games since 1959, apart from failing to reach the set target of 40 gold, 37 silver and 64 bronze.

Commenting further, Megat D. Shahriman said that allocations from the government to sports associations should be based on merit and achievement, not based on the popularity of the sport.

"When the allocation is more for sports that do not deliver and do not bring success, but sports that deliver do not get proper help, it can cause discrimination and favouritism.

"The government needs to see what kind of sports can deliver, so the budget for these sports should be expanded so that it can make the country proud. You have to follow other countries which based allocation on merit, if you achieve, you get (funding), if you don’t achieve, you have to wait until you achieve it,” he said. — Bernama