SEA Games: OCM will not bar Myanmar's participation
Published on: Sunday, December 04, 2016
Kuala Lumpur: The Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) will not block Myanmar's participation in the 2017 SEA Games in Kuala Lumpur although the Asean member has been accused of persecuting its Rohingya minority ethnic group.Its President Tunku Tan Sri Imran Tuanku Ja'afar said problems relating to politics, religion and race in a country should not lead to sports becoming a victim."I am of the opinion we should not mix politics and sports because if this happens, when will there be an end?ADVERTISEMENT "Sports is something where we leave behind anything that is related to politics, religion and race. If we allow these elements to creep into sports, then sports itself will die," he said. Tunku Imran told this to reporters after chairing OCM's 180th Executive Committee meeting at Wisma OCM here Saturday.On other matters, Tunku Imran advised sports associations (SAs) not to be too dependent on the Youth and Sports Ministry for funding but instead find ways to be self-reliant.ADVERTISEMENT Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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"We must understand that government funds are limited because there is not only one sport to look after but many, and as such, SAs themselves should be creative in generating their own funds."As an example, SAs can ask their players and members to contribute RM10 annually, if it has 200,000 members, they can collect RM2 million for their coffers," he said. – Bernama