Youth and Sports Minister Reezal Merican Naina Merican said he had asked Yakeb and the National Sports Council to assist the SEA Games gold medallist whose plight was highlighted by FMT yesterday.

He said he had asked both organisations to assist Subramaniam “wherever we can”, including in facilitating his admission to hospital for further medical examination or to the ISN Sports Medicine Centre.

Yakeb president Noorul Ariffin Abdul Majeed meanwhile said the foundation had helped Subramaniam “in many ways”.

He said Subramaniam had been given Covid-19 aid of RM500 as well as six letters of guarantee to hospitals. His in-patient and out-patient bills were also paid for, he said.

Regarding the MRI scan, he said Yakeb had not received any letter from either Subramaniam or a hospital.

“However, to avoid any difficulties on his end, we have urgently arranged for a check-up at the Selayang Hospital,” he said.

He also said Yakeb members should follow the guidelines when applying for aid, and that the foundation had assisted more than 1,700 former athletes since 2018.

Subramaniam, who was named Malaysian Sportsman of the Year in 1978, had asked for RM1,200 to undergo the scan four months ago.

He suffers from stiffness, numbness and pain in both legs which makes it difficult for him to continue his passion for coaching junior race walkers, or to even earn a living.

However, he said his request was rejected, forcing him to seek traditional therapy instead.

He said Yakeb had told his son and son-in-law that allocations for former athletes had been stopped, and that the foundation no longer had the necessary budget when Subramaniam applied for aid.

He also said he only received one letter of guarantee several years ago for an angiogram which cost RM900.

The Covid-19 aid was only given after he requested for it, he added.

“I am, however, grateful that Yakeb came to my aid after my plight was highlighted by FMT,” he said.

Offers of assistance have also been pouring in from well-wishers and organisations.

Subramaniam won eight SEA Games gold medals in the 10km and 20km race walk events between 1977 and 1989.

He also trained race walkers who snared gold medals themselves at the same level from 1993 to 2015.

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