THE National Sports Council (NSC) has urged social media users not to sensationalise the issue surrounding former national para athlete Koh Lee Peng.

NSC director-general Ahmad Shapawi Ismail said that such actions would imply that the government was neglecting Lee Peng’s plight.

He said they had previously tried to help the former athlete in many ways but he had rejected their attempts, including an offer to enter an entrepreneurial programme jointly organised by the NSC and the National Entrepreneurial Institute (Insken) specially for former athletes.

He said that the seven Asean Para Games (APG) gold medallist did not want to budge from his stand of being self-reliant and to use his wheelchair to get around and sell items like tissue paper, adding that the door was always open to him.

Lee Peng’s issue once again went viral after a famous Muslim preacher uploaded a video of him meeting the former athlete on Instagram recently.

Meanwhile, National Athletes’ Welfare Foundation (Yakeb) chairman Noorul Ariffin Abdul Majeed urged all parties not to exploit the issue for their personal agenda as the foundation, along with the Youth and Sports Ministry, the NSC and other agencies are ready to assist Lee Peng.

“Don’t tarnish the good reputation and name of national athletes for personal or political gain. It will spark a negative perception that can cause public confusion and result in a lack of support for national athletes,” he added. – Bernama, September 2, 2022.