Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) president Tan Sri Norza Zakaria has come under heavy fire from netizens after a photo showing him, his son, and wife watching Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik in action during their bronze medal matchup.
In the now-viral photo, it showed him sitting with his family at the Arena Porte de La Chapelle while wearing accreditation cards issued by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
The controversy comes at the heels of news outlets reporting of several Malaysian athletes who couldn’t have their coach or team accompany them to Paris due to insufficient accreditation cards.
One such casualty was Goh Jin Wei, where her coach, Nova Armada, had to skip the Olympics due to the accreditation cards issue.
As a result, she had to turn to Rexy Mainaky, the director of coaching at the Malaysian Badminton Academy (ABM), and assistant to the national men’s doubles coach throughout her Olympic stint, reported NST.
Another player who faced a similar fate was Lee Zii Jia, who had to fund his entire team right out from his own pockets as OCM didn’t include any of Team LZJ’s staff in its list of officials.
Earlier, Scoop had reported that Zii Jia had approached chef de mission Datuk Hamidin Mohd Amin for his help in securing two extra accreditation cards for his physiotherapist and personal sparring partner.
Malaysians were outraged by how poorly the national athletes were treated, with many slamming Norza and OCM for their poor prioritisation and called for heads to roll over the issue.
A reminder that both Lee Zii Jia and Goh Jin Wei team were denied additional accreditation. Which meant he didn't get the support he needed while someone took their wife and kid.
— Loretta (@lorettabagg) August 5, 2024
Today he gave us a bronze medal. pic.twitter.com/RYsbK15K3J
Kita masih ada harapan pingat emas di Paris 2024. Mari kita doakan. Tapi selepas Olimpik 2024 tamat, 2 orang ini dan semua lembaga pengarah Majlis Olimpik Malaysia perlu letak jawatan. pic.twitter.com/e7IBfHsWho
— Roman Akramovich (@SyedAkramin) August 4, 2024
OCM president defends bringing family to Olympics
Responding to the public outcry, Norza told Malaysiakini that he was able to bring his family to the Olympics due to him being given a “special quota”.
As the president of the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) and OCM, I am allocated a quota to bring my own guests.
This quota is distinct and unrelated to the accreditation cards issued to athletes and the national team,” he said.
What do you think of Norza’s explanation? Let us know in the comments!
Yesterday, Lee Zii Jia made history by bagging Malaysia’s second bronze medal at the Olympics:
