The government has no budget for the official attire for the para-athletes to wear at the opening of the Asian Para Games in Jakarta next month.

The Star quoted a source as saying that the para-athletes have been told to wear their tracksuits during the march-past parade at the Gelora Bung Karno Main Stadium.

The report said that in every international meet in the past, these athletes were given the official attire comprising baju Melayu, long trousers, samping and black shoes.

It said that the Malaysian Paralympics team’s chef de mission Lee Sheng Chow confirmed they were looking for sponsors to provide the official attire which is estimated to cost around RM250 each, or RM57,000 to dress the team.

The Malaysian contingent has a strength of 225 including 120 athletes. The rest are officials, doctors and helpers to assist the disabled competitors.

The source was also reported as saying that the athletes were allocated with four T-shirts each to be worn on and off the track but these would be insufficient for the duration of the Games and would compel the para-athletes to do their laundry during the eight-day event.

The source added that so far no companies have responded to requests to sponsor extra T-shirts.

Malaysiakini has contacted Youth and Sports Minister Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman for comment.