The historic wins by national paralympians Mohamad Ridzuan Mohamad Puzi and Muhamad Ziyad Zolkefli at the Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro has given the nation immense pride.

Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said the rare achievements showed they could bring honours to the country at the Olympic level.

"I still can't get over the victory by Ridzuan and Ziyad early this morning,' said Khairy in his Facebook posting today.

"Thanks to Ziyad for giving me the strength to change the treatment of parathletes three years ago. Today Malaysia is one of the few countries in the world which provides equal incentives to both normal athletes and special athletes.

"Our parathletes' achievements and sacrifices must be honoured the same as other athletes," he added.

Three years ago, the incentives for paralympic athletes was only 30 percent of that given to normal athletes.

Nonetheless, after he was appointed minister, Khairy decided to give equal incentives to both normal athletes and parathletes.

"I got news from Lyon, France that a national athlete named Ziyad Zolkefli had won in the world athletics championship. After receiving the news, I asked my officers whether the ministry was providing incentives for the win.

"I was told yes. But the amount was lower as this was para sports. I then asked how much less? They answered parathletes get 30 percent of the reward of normal athletes," he said.

Meanwhile, Perlis Menteri Besar Azlan Man in a posting on Facebook congratulated Mohamad Ridzuan for delivering the country's first ever gold medal in the Paralympic Games.

Azlan said the success of the special athlete in competing for the nation was celebrated by all Malaysians.

"Congratulations and thanks to the sprinter from Perlis, Mohamad Ridzuan Mohamad Puzi for winning the gold medal in the men's 100m T36 (cerebral palsy) event and cracking the Paralympic record," said Azlan, who is in the Holy Land performing the haj pilgrimage.

- Bernama