The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) recently stripped Malaysia of its rights to host the World Para Swimming World Championships this year for its refusal to grant Israeli athletes visas to enter the country.
Expressing its disappointment and stating that “politics and sports are never a good mix”, the IPC said it had no choice but to seek new hosts when a host country excludes athletes due to “political reasons”.
The global governing body for the Paralympic movement had claimed that when Malaysia was awarded the right to host the event two years ago, our country had given assurances that all eligible athletes and countries would be allowed to participate with their safety assured.
The IPC said it will be looking for a new host country for the event, which it said is “vital” as it acts as a qualifier to the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games.
Sports should be above politics, and the decision by the federal government has a negative impact on the image of Malaysia and, in particular, Sarawak as the host state.
It really hit us hard in many aspects, more so in loss of potential revenue from “sports tourism” as 64 countries had confirmed their participation involving 1,678 athletes and officials.
Flights to Kuching had been increased and a lot of effort had been made to make the international meet a successful one.
Both organisers and participating countries had devoted time and effort in the preparations of this international sporting event, not realising that a “politically-twisted” decision had thrown things into disarray, albeit on the change of host venue.
Notwithstanding that the decision to ban the Israeli para-swimmers came from Putrajaya, Sarawak’s image had taken a real bashing as it was the state that was slated to host the world meet – a very sad episode indeed for us, more so when we had just recently launched our “Visit Sarawak” campaign in a glistering ceremony at the Kuching Waterfront to coincide with the New Year countdown.
Kuching Association of Hotels Sarawak chapter secretary-general John Teo said local businesses were expected to suffer losses to the tune of RM5 million due to the cancellation.
That begets the question – why did we agree to host the event knowing that Malaysia and Israel do not have diplomatic relations?
Did we agree to pick up the gauntlet, fully aware of the potential political interference which may come with it?
It is naive for the detractors to argue and justify that the change in government at the federal level had “unfortunately” led to such a decision.
It is equally naive to think that we could go ahead and host the event without Israeli participation, knowing well that both Malaysia and Israel do not have diplomatic relations since day one.
Lest we forget, all Malaysian passports bear the inscription: “This passport is valid for all countries except Israel.”
Or did we hope and pray that the Israelis will not be coming at all, “to complicate matters”, based on our non-diplomatic relations with their country – which we hope not.
Did we agree to host the championship because our organisers truly believed that sports and politics should not mix and Sarawak can exercise its autonomy on immigration to allow the Israeli swimmers to participate solely on the grounds that we subscribe to international sports conventions and neutrality – which we sincerely hope so.
In short, we believe in doing the right thing and doing it right.
Then, why the U-turn?
Did we, once again, succumb to pressure from Putrajaya and develop cold feet to go along with them as we did on many previous occasions?
That is sad and disappointing as we expect the tough to get going – when the going gets tough.
We aren’t that tough or are we lacking in courage and political will to see it through?
To be honest, I was quite hopeful that the organisers would stand their ground.
We chose to do it differently not indifferently, didn’t we?
That said, why did we choose to host the event in the first place?
By accepting to host it, aren’t we agreeing to abide by its “terms and conditions”?
After all, this isn’t the first para-swimming meet sanctioned by the International Paralympic Committee, is it?
May I take the opportunity to throw this question to our federal government – if Israel does qualify for the Para-Olympics in Tokyo, will Malaysia boycott it “to protect our international image”?
If we do participate, wouldn’t it smack of hypocrisy and slapping our own faces?
Are we telling the world that, while we cannot compete with Israelis para-swimmers in our local pools it is acceptable to swim with them in international ones?
So much for our “moral compass”. Come on, let’s wake up to reality. This is the 21st century – the era of the “boundary less and borderless world” – to connect, not disconnect.
To innovate, not isolate. And this includes sports.
Please leave the politics of “divide and rule” behind. We want to unite, not divide – both locally and internationally.
The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the New Sarawak Tribune.
