Pension for Malaysian Olympic medal winners

PETALING JAYA - Malaysian athletes who win an Olympic medal of any colour will now be eligible for a monthly pension for life, The Star reported yesterday.

Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, who chairs the Cabinet Committee for Sports Development, said this was decided at its second meeting on Monday.

"We see this approach as a means to get more people serious about sports. This move is to improve the welfare of the athletes after retiring from representing the country.

"Only athletes who win medals - gold, silver or bronze - at the Olympic Games will be eligible. We regard the Olympics as the highest achievement for athletes. Since the athlete has brought a good name for the country, the pension should be given as a reward,'' said Najib.

The pension scheme is to be based on the South Korean system, where sportspersons are eligible for a lifetime pension of between US$600 and US$1,000 (RM2,280-RM3,800) for each Olympic gold medal they win.

Malaysia's Olympic medal winners now get a one-off payment of RM160,000 for a gold medal, RM80,000 (silver) and RM40,000 (bronze).

The medal winners will also be eligible for an insurance scheme, which was drawn up after studying the free medical and insurance coverage given to Cuban athletes.

Najib said the Cabinet Committee would not ignore sports that were not listed as high performance sports.

"We are going to set-up a special allocation that will be discussed with the Finance Ministry. We expect it to be approved soon," he added.

The Cabinet Committee also approved the Education Ministry's proposal to hold a sports carnival for institutions of higher learning to be called the Sipma Games.

"This is another way to encourage those in the higher learning institutions to take up sports," said Najib, adding that the first Sipma Games would be held in August.

Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin