Ten legends, athletes of the year, decades without cash prize

Free Malaysia Today

Crowned Sportsman and Sportswoman of the Year between 1966 and 1982, Malaysia’s top athletes never received the RM5,000 prize promised to them.   Read More:  https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/highlight/2025/09/03/ten-legends-athletes-of-the-year-decades-without-cash-prize   Free Malaysia Today is an independent, bi-lingual news portal with a focus on Malaysian current affairs.    Subscribe to our channel - http://bit.ly/2Qo08ry   ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  Check us out at https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com  Follow FMT on Facebook: https://bit.ly/49JJoo5  Follow FMT on Dailymotion: https://bit.ly/2WGITHM  Follow FMT on X: https://bit.ly/48zARSW  Follow FMT on Instagram: https://bit.ly/48Cq76h  Follow FMT on TikTok : https://bit.ly/3uKuQFp  Follow FMT Berita on TikTok: https://bit.ly/48vpnQG  Follow FMT Telegram - https://bit.ly/42VyzMX  Follow FMT LinkedIn - https://bit.ly/42YytEb  Follow FMT Lifestyle on Instagram: https://bit.ly/42WrsUj  Follow FMT on WhatsApp: https://bit.ly/49GMbxW  ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  Download FMT News App:  Google Play – http://bit.ly/2YSuV46  App Store – https://apple.co/2HNH7gZ  Huawei AppGallery - https://bit.ly/2D2OpNP   #FMTNews #Sportman #Sportoman #PrizePromises

Transcript

00:00They carried the nation's flag with pride, but the reward they were promised never reached their hands.

00:08For at least 10 of Malaysia's greatest athletes, the 5,000 ringgit prize money tied to the nation's

00:14highest sporting honor simply vanished. They were the sportsman and sportswoman of the year between

00:201966 and 1982. Grace Walker V. Subramaniam was told the money would come after retirement to

00:28preserve his amateur status. But when he retired, the money never came. Now at 76, he survives on a

00:37telecom pension of just 430 ringgit. His words cut deep. We carried the Malaysian flag when the

00:47country needed us. Today, the silence is deafening. Sprinter Junaida Aman, twice sportswoman of the year,

00:55speaks with quiet grace. To her, respect is not about trophies. It is about keeping promises.

01:03Badminton great Sylvia Ng, also twice sportswoman of the year, strikes at the system itself.

01:11Her frustration was clear. If prize money risked amateur status, why offer it at all? And with

01:18nothing ever reaching the athletes, one question remains. Where did the money go? It is a question

01:24Malaysia's sporting fraternity can no longer brush aside. Because this is no longer about 5,000 ringgit.

01:33It is about respect, dignity, and integrity. Race walker Ku Chong Beng puts it plainly.

01:41Promises should be honoured. Integrity must always be upheld. Today, billions are spent on infrastructure

01:50and foreign coaches. Yet the simple duty of honouring past champions remains ignored. If Malaysia forgets

01:58the very athletes who built its pride, what foundation does our sporting future truly stand on?

02:05Frankie Ducous and Natasha Bust, FMT

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