Winning Gold, Breaking Records And Becoming Millionaires, What Our Paralympians Success Really Means

A month ago, the Malaysian Rio Olympics contingent brought back 4 silver and 1 bronze medals, now the Rio Paralympics which just concluded yesterday saw our athletes successfully bagging 3 gold and 1 bronze medals for Malaysia.

Malaysia has been making appearances in the Paralympics since Heidelberg 1972, making its first climb on the podium at Seoul 1988 securing a bronze in the weightlifting category.

Until this year, our overall medals from the Paralympics, Malaysia has secured two silver and five bronze medals throughout its Paralympics appearances from a total of 8 Games.

On Friday, 16 September, Siti Noor Radiah Ismail added another medal to this year’s spectacular haul. The T20 women’s long jump by her secured a bronze medal for Malaysia, recording a jump 5.20 metres in her third attempt, breaking her own record at the Asia Para Games record of 5.10 metres, back in 2014, Incheon, South Korea.

Her teammate, Siti Noor Iasah Mohamad Ariffin had also demonstrated a spectacular leap of 4.91 metres, finishing at fourth place.

The Gold medal streaks began with Mohamad Ridzuan Mohamad Puzi who won at the 100 metre T36 category followed by Muhammad Ziyad Zolkefli, winning the shot put F20 category final, setting a new mark in itself.

Long jumper, Abdul Latiff Romly rounded up the golden trio who made history last week when he broke the previous world record of 7.35 metres, setting a distinctive mark of 7.60 metres in the men’s long jump T20 category, securing the third gold for Malaysia.

When our Rio Olympics athletes returned home last month, over 3, 000 Malaysians thronged the Bunga Raya Complex in Sepang on 24 August to give them a heroes’ welcome with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and his wife on hand to greet them.

Last week, Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin announced that an equally grand welcome is being planned for our Paralympian heroes when they return from the Rio Paralympics on Sept 22.

Equal sports incentives and being the centre of attention instead of being sidelined, have our para-athletes managed to make a meaningful difference to the largely unnoticed disabled community in Malaysia? Malaysian Digest takes a closer look at the impact of our Paralympians making history in Rio.

“It Is An Eye Opener For Many Parents Out There Who Has Disabled Children” – NGO

Malaysians should all join hands to congratulate our Rio Paralympics heroes who had made the country and its people proud.

Malaysian Digest in an interview with Damai Disabled Person Association’s President, V Murugeswaran had asked about the impact of our para-athletes historic wins in Rio towards improving the disabled community in Malaysia.

“We have waited for a very long period to win a gold medal and in this edition we not only won one but three,” Murugeswaran responded.

He also added that, by winning three gold medals, obviously our athletes have put the country on the world map that produces world-class athletes.

Elaborating further on what change it can bring to Malaysians, Murugeswaran added, “It shows the determination of the people with disabilities to prove to the world that they also, if given equal rights in terms of training and sport facilities, they will excel just like any other individuals”.

He also paid tribute to the parents of the athletes for the sacrifices made in order to help their children realise their talents despite their disabilities.

“It is an eye opener for many parents out there who has disabled children to start valuing their children, accepting their disabilities and encouraging them to excel in whatever field that the child has interest.

“Disability is no longer a factor to determine one’s success,” Murugeswaran explained that, “it shows that with hard work anyone can excel.

However, Murugeswaran emphasized that Malaysians still have a long way to go in accepting the disabled into the mainstream.

“Although I feel that the appreciation (not in terms of monetary gain) given by the public at large is not equivalent to those given to our athletes who competed in the Rio Olympics,” he explained.

Giving an example, he points out that the event was not telecast (live) in any local mainstream channels unlike the Rio Olympics coverage.

Murugeswaran had also pointed out the reality of most disabled Malaysians living their daily lives especially those on wheelchair remains the same. “The obstacles that they have to face in their daily life has yet to be resolved fully in order for them to move around independently and lead an independent life.

“In order for them to excel in life it is of paramount importance that the government look into disabled friendly transportation, infrastructure, and access to education and job opportunities,” he suggested.

Speaking of the recent wins in Rio, Murugeswaran added that, many people would realise the importance of treating people with disabilities as an equivalent to those who are not.

“All this while, the approach taken by the government has always been a “piece-meal” approach rather than a holistic approach.

“It is about time for the government to recognise the needs of people with disabilities and provide the best just like every other citizen,” he emphasised that local government has a major role in implementing barrier free environment to enhance the lifestyle of people with disabilities.

All Malaysians Are Celebrating The Victory Of Our National Paralympics Athletes In Rio, Veteran Sportsman Says

Malaysian Digest also spoke to a veteran sportsman who has over two decades experience in local and international sports, including representing Malaysia in several Olympic Games.

He gave an insight into how the para-athletes are talent-spotted from the local disabled community but preferred to remain anonymous.

When asked about the contingent in general, he stated that the national contingent of para-athletes is the cream of the crop, screened through a very selective screening process.

“To qualify for the Paralympics, you need to have specific criteria to be selected”, he explains further.

The veteran sportsman mentioned that even within their selected group, there are further selection processes, pointing to the various sub categories within a category.

The ability for these athletes to overcome the obstacles that normal individuals can never imagine reaching the top of their field is recognised by our government. Malaysia has taken the lead in offering equal incentives to our athletes who win medals Paralympics, ahead of any European or American nation that even Singapore is now calling for better incentives for their para-athletes who won gold at Rio.

“I would not know how to feel 30 percent proud of them. I only feel 100 percent proud of our para heroes,” the Youth and Sports Minister had proudly announced last week in a Facebook posting.

When asked about the impact it will lay out for our athletes and the nation in the future, the veteran sportsman expressed that it will leave a huge impact by making disabled athletes to be more celebrated and recognised at par with the normal athletes.

The word para in the Paralympics comes from parallel and is chosen to show athletes with disabilities are equal to those who are able-bodied. Their ability to equal able-bodied sportsmen has already been proven by recent para-athletes at the Rio Paralympics.

On 4 September, four Paralympic athletes ran so fast in the 1500m T12/T13 final that their times would have won them an Olympic gold medal in the same event a month earlier.

The top-four finishers, gold medallist Abdellatif Baka as well as Tamiru Demisse, Henry Kirwa and Fouad Baka all ran faster than Olympic 1,500m champion Matthew Centrowitz Jr.

Our own golden boy, Abdul Latif Romly won the SUKMA gold medal with a personal best distance of 7.46m, beating normal athletes in the men’s long jump gold at the 18th Sukan Malaysia earlier in July this year.

Elaborating the fact that, by these wins, disabled people will be more recognised and their needs given more attention to improve their lot in life in an overall context.

“Malaysians are celebrating with great joy over the victory of our national Paralympics athletes in Rio,” he added.

While the sportsman had previously recalled how he represented the nation in the past for the sole purpose of bringing honour to our country, for para-athletes the improved monetary incentives are certainly an advantage.

Many come from working class backgrounds and have less access to proper education because of their disability so the cash rewards will go a long way towards their medical bills and care.

The million ringgit cash reward for winning a gold medal as well as lifetime pension and many other corporate incentives will be life-changing for para-athletes, and certainly more meaningful than for their able-bodied peers.

“One Of The Most Vulnerable Of The Minority Groups In The Malaysian Population”

Our para-athletes inspiring efforts at the Rio Paralympics have made Malaysians sit up and take a good look at themselves.

If we are to take a closer look around us, so many things that we take for granted pose huge obstacles to the disabled. Notice the flight of stairs without wheelchair access, public facilities that pose a danger to those without the use of the sense of sight or sound?

Don’t even mention the public transportation, pedestrian walkways and government offices that don’t have proper access for those with disabilities, Malaysia still has a long way to go in providing equal access for the disabled.

A reader who had been so moved by our para-athletes achievements at Rio last week, he wrote an open letter to ‘An open letter to Malaysia’s Paralympic heroes’ which was published by local online sports news portal FourthOfficial.com last week.

Keeshaanan Sundaresan had penned the emotional letter directed to our ‘golden boys’ Ridzuan Puzi, Ziyad Zolkefli and Abdul Latif Romly and showed how each one overcame the harsh odds that life has dealt them to succeed.

He also highlighted how Malaysia is far behind many nations in recognising the rights of the disabled.

“Let’s face it, shall we? As a nation, we aren’t the most accommodating one when it comes to assisting PWDs (Person With Disabilities). I’m not saying we completely ignore them, but most of you would completely agree that we just don’t do enough to make life comfortable for these people

“Existing policies look promising on paper, but they’re still not reaching out a large portion of PWDs out there. In an article that was published in the International Journal of Social Science and Humanity last year, Rezaul Islam labelled the PWD community as ‘one of the most vulnerable of the minority groups in the Malaysian population.’ – a grim depiction of the difficulties they face on a daily basis.”

He points out that despite the efforts from NGOs, many Malaysians continue to discriminate against people with disabilities by simply being ignorant.

“PWDs find it horrendously difficult to access job opportunities, housing, social structures. How many public facilities are ‘PWD-friendly’, outside Kuala Lumpur? How many PWDs occupy big managerial positions across the country? How many PWDs have access to education systems that are designed to help them maximise their learning process?

“This social exclusion, be it a conscious one or a subconscious one, takes a toll on their ability to live and survive, on a daily basis … We’ve all contributed in making their life difficult, one way or another.

“Ridzuan, Ziyad and Latif – I hope you know what your victories mean to PWDs in our country. We failed you as a country and as a community on a daily basis, but you never gave up. We made life harder for you, but you always battled against the odds. We made conscious and subconscious presumptions about you, but you disproved them all, with every step you took, on the training ground and in the gym. You proved us wrong, every time you went that extra mile, with the national flag on your chest, on the track,” he ends his emotional letter by thanking them for opening the eyes of Malaysians to people with disabilities.

“It will go a long way in changing the way our society accepts, accommodates and treats PWDs across the country. It has to. It will,” he concludes.

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