Hannah Yeoh was radiant at KLIA last week, leading the heroes’ welcome for Malaysia’s new badminton world champions.

Cameras flashed, soundbites flowed, and the minister for youth and sports basked in the nation’s joy.

Days later, the ministry finally addressed a dark truth: the sportsman and sportswoman of the year from 1966 to 1982 never received their promised RM5,000 cash prizes.

The statement sounded serious. It pledged to help find a solution. But read closely, it was more about passing the ball than taking charge.

The ministry praised the Malaysian National Cycling Federation for repaying Ng Joo Ngan and welcomed Malaysia Athletics’ task force.

That is not leadership. That is outsourcing responsibility.

Whose awards were these?

These were national awards, instituted on the advice of Tunku Abdul Rahman. They carried the government’s seal, the prestige of the state, and the recognition of the nation.

Between 1966 and 1982, the awards went to champions across badminton, cycling, hockey, swimming, football, bowling, tennis, basketball — and athletics forming the bulk with nine recipients.

There may well be other athletes whose cash prizes never reached them.

Framing this as something for associations to resolve — with the ministry merely assisting — pretends it was a spectator, not the custodian of Malaysia’s highest sports honour.

If the awards bore Malaysia’s name, then Malaysia must account for them.

Associations may have mishandled funds, but the duty to uphold the nation’s promise rests with the ministry alone. Only it can close this chapter with clarity and finality.

The RM5,000 may sound modest today, but it was a princely sum in the 1960s and 70s. More importantly, it was a promise — and promises from the state cannot be quietly delegated away.

Accountability, not applause

The ministry has stressed that no payments have gone missing since it took direct control of the national sports awards in 1984. It, however, does not absolve the years before.

If medals and records from the 1960s can be traced, money from the same era can be too.

The cycling federation will repay Ng, and the Malaysian Hockey Confederation repaid M Mahendran — not through audits or ministry-led reviews, but out of respect.

The prize money had originally been channelled to the associations between 1966 and 1982, so the ministry must now work with them to establish a full accounting.

If it were serious, it would lead the process, ensuring every unpaid award is traced and settled, rather than leaving it to individual federations.

This is not about task forces or praising associations for doing the bare minimum. Leadership is about accountability, not applause at airports.

The betrayal within

The controversy has exposed a fault line in the athletics fraternity. Some past icons dismissed a fellow awardee’s demand as unreasonable, claiming amateur rules capped rewards at RM250.

They offered no proof. It was hearsay. And they could not explain the glaring contradiction: Ng received RM500 in 1970 and still competed internationally.

By siding with doubt and dismissal, some “greats” have betrayed the very cause they should defend.

Solidarity should be instinctive — standing together in pursuit of long-denied justice — not optional.

A national reckoning

This is not about one sport or one association. It is about how we, as a nation, treat those who brought us glory.

These athletes trained without modern facilities or financial security, often juggling jobs and studies alongside punishing schedules.

They competed for flag and country, not endorsements or professional contracts.

To discover decades later that the cash incentive announced in their honour was never paid — and to see the state hedge its words rather than confront the wrong — deepens the wound.

The public has noticed. Reactions online are sharp. Ordinary Malaysians ask: how could this have happened, and why is accountability still so elusive?

More than RM5,000

Ultimately, this controversy is not about RM5,000. It is about integrity. It is about whether Malaysia values its champions not just in victory, but in memory.

Mahendran has finally been paid. Ng is set to receive his prize next week. Others may still await justice.

But it should never have taken more than half a century — and a media spotlight — to make right what was wrong.

If the ministry wants to inspire today’s champions, it must do more than cheer when medals are won. It must prove that promises are honoured, even decades later.

Because visibility without responsibility is not respect. It is pageantry.

And until our leaders understand that, yesterday’s greats will remain invisible — and tomorrow’s may wonder if their sacrifices will one day be forgotten too.

Hannah Yeoh (centre) and Jeffri Ngadirin (right) hail badminton’s world champions but sidestep hard questions on long-unpaid athlete prizes. (Bernama pic)

The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of FMT.