THE Klang City International Marathon 2017 received the necessary permits before the event was held, reported The Star.

Organisers of the event told the daily that they complied with procedures, including submitting applications to police and the Klang Municipal Council in June, and that they received approvals in August.

“No company in the world would dare go on with such a big event without going through the relevant authorities because this concerns the safety of all participants,” a spokesman identified as Tay was quoted as saying.

However, he declined to comment when asked whether the organisers were aware that they needed to get approval from the Youth and Sports Ministry’s Sports Commissioner’s Office to hold the event.

“I do not want to comment further, and we will leave the matter to our lawyer.”

Sports Commissioner Zaiton Othman, in a statement yesterday, said the event, held on Sunday, was illegal as no application from the organisers was received.

During the marathon, runner Evelyn Ang Gek Suan, 44, suffered bleeding in the brain and a skull fracture after being hit by car.

Runners Ahmad Hadafi Jus, 44, and Amiruddin Hamid,37, suffered minor foot injuries in the 4.30am accident at Batu 2, Jalan Kapar.

Ang is in stable condition after undergoing brain surgery to remove blood clots, but remains unconscious in the intensive care unit.

“I can only say that we have been cooperating with police in their investigation,” said Tay when asked about the number of marshals deployed to ensure participants’ safety.

He said the seven-hour event started in the wee hours because of safety considerations, as having it start later in the day would pose more danger to runners due to busy traffic.

North Klang OCPD Assisstant Commissioner Mazelan Paijan said police had responded to a letter from the organisers in July, requesting police’s assistance in controlling traffic.

“We responded and told the organisers to adhere to traffic regulations.”

The report said a police officer from the South Klang district police headquarters had confirmed receiving a similar letter.

A reply was given to the organisers regarding the scope of traffic control, said a police source.

Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin yesterday directed Zaiton to lodge a police report against the event organisers for holding the marathon without her office’s approval.

Khairy said the ministry also planned to amend the Sports Development Act to make it compulsory for organisers to apply to the Sports Commissioner’s Office for approval 90 days before any event, so that there was time to scrutinise their readiness and finances. – December 12, 2017.