By Fernando Fong
Copyright therakyatpost
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Malaysia’s para-badminton superstar Cheah Liek Hou is staring down a potential competition ban after he had the audacity to call out sports officials for not paying up on promised prize money.
The 37-year-old double Paralympic champion took to Instagram to brand the Paralympic Council of Malaysia (PCM) a “scam organisation” after they failed to deliver the RM60,000 cash incentive promised for his gold medal win at the Paris Paralympics.
Now, instead of getting his money, Cheah faces suspension from major tournaments.
PCM president Datuk Seri Megat D. Shahriman announced the suspension threat at a press conference today (18 September), claiming the athlete’s social media outburst was “excessive” and damaging to the council’s reputation.
“No athlete is bigger than the country or the organisation,” Megat declared, confirming that PCM will send show-cause letters to the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM), National Sports Council (NSC), and Youth and Sports Ministry.
The Vanishing Promise? From RM60,000 to “We Never Said That”
Here’s where it gets messy: Megat now claims he doesn’t know where the RM60,000 figure came from.
This is despite his own announcement in August 2024 promising exactly that amount to gold medallists.
The reality check? PCM has only received RM88,000 from one sponsor to distribute among all Paris medallists.
Gold winners like Cheah will now get just RM25,000 – less than half what was originally promised.
The PCM president is seeking legal advice to “protect its credibility and sponsors”.
Megat claimed that Cheah’s post “scares away existing and potential sponsors” and that two other athletes are also under investigation for simply re-sharing the champion’s complaint.
The PCM president is seeking legal advice to “protect its credibility and sponsors”.
Two Decades of Glory, One Instagram Post of Trouble
Cheah, from Kuala Lumpur, has dominated para-badminton for two decades.
Born with Erb’s palsy affecting his right arm, he has won 14 World Para Badminton Championships and secured back-to-back Paralympic golds in Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024.
The man has a Malaysia Book of Records entry as the first Malaysian to win consecutive Paralympic badminton golds.
He’s been honoured with the Bintang Kesatria Mangku Negara (KMN) medal and even had a biopic made about his life.
Yet when he speaks up about broken promises, he gets threatened with a ban.
@faizal_tahir TAHNIAH Cheah Liek Hou 🥇 Genggam semangat juara 💪🏽🇲🇾 #SemangatJuara #Paralympics #Paris2024 #MajlisSukanNegara #Badminton ♬ Semangat Juara (Chorus) – Faizal Tahir
Minister Steps In
Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh waded into the controversy with a scathing Facebook post, essentially accusing the Paralympic body of overstepping its authority.
This is not how we should treat athletes who have raised Malaysia’s name on the world stage.
More damaging still, the minister questioned PCM’s very jurisdiction over the matter.
Liek Hou is under the care of Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) and fully funded by National Sports Council (MSN). Any decisions regarding Liek Hou’s position are not solely in PCM’s hands. PCM has no right to act unilaterally.
The minister also delivered a reality check about sponsor motivations: “Sponsors come because they want to support and celebrate athletes’ achievements, not just to sponsor PCM alone.”
With the Sports Ministry now publicly backing Cheah, PCM finds itself in the uncomfortable position of having disciplined an athlete whose own government considers him blameless.
The show-cause letter that was meant to silence criticism has instead amplified it to the highest levels of Malaysian sports administration.
READ MORE: Malaysian Badminton Champs Get Extra Windfall After Public Backlash Over “Cheap” Rewards
Parts of this story have been sourced from Berita Harian.
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