PUTRAJAYA must introduce a pension scheme for all former national and state athletes to ensure they do not suffer from financial woes in their later days, said Bukit Gelugor MP Ramkarpal Singh today.

He said the government should also consider providing them with medical insurance.

“No doubt such an effort may not be easy given the current financial status of the country but it should be a priority of the government in the near future,” said the lawyer in a statement.

“Furthermore, such incentives will certainly encourage more to get involved in sports from a young age as they would be confident of some form of security upon retirement.”

He said there were no long term benefits for former athletes with the exception of former Olympic and Paralympic medallists who drew a lifetime pension from the government.

He urged Youth and Sports Minister Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman to intervene and provide assistance to former Penang and national footballer Salahuddin Che Ros who had fallen on hard times.

He said the ministry could provide the former footballer with some form of temporary financial aid.

It was reported that Salahuddin had to sleep in the streets during his regular trips to Kuala Lumpur for treatment at the  National Heart Institute (IJN) in Kuala Lumpur for treatment .
 
Following the new reports, the Football Association of Malaysia and the Penang government have initiated efforts to assist Salahuddin.

However, Ramkarpal said, the bigger issue was the long-term interests of its retired athletes. He said they must be looked after financially the same way government servants receive pensions after their retirement.

“It is hoped that cases such as Salahuddin’s do not recur in the future and the government must play its part in looking after the interests of these former athletes after the end of their careers.” – December 5, 2018.