Ministry takes in T'ganu divers amid concerns over state directives

The Youth and Sports Ministry is taking the two Terengganu women divers who won bronze medals at the 2024 Malaysia Games (Sukma) under their wing.

Its minister Hannah Yeoh, in announcing this, also expressed concern with the state's directive on female athletes.

“The ministry is concerned that the state government’s directive to restrict female athletes’ participation in certain fields may hinder the potential of many talented young athletes and negatively impact the overall development of sports in the country,” she said in a statement on Facebook today.

Terengganu had imposed restrictions on Muslim female athletes from competing in sports where the necessary attire is not syariah compliant - which impacted gymnastics and water sports.

Despite the restrictions, two Terengganu divers Uzlifatil Jannah Ashraf and Ilyssa Ixora Imran competed in Sukma without the state government's blessing.

The duo won the bronze medal in the 10m platform synchronised diving category, while Uzlifatil also won bronze in the 1m springboard category.

This led to Terengganu's exco in charge of sports, Hishamuddin Abdul Karim, launching a probe to determine how the duo managed to represent the state.

Following this, the Terengganu Amateur Swimming Association, who partially funded and sent Uzlifatil and Ilyssa to Sukma, apologised for misunderstanding the state's dress code guidelines and not getting state government approval.

Commenting on the matter, Yeoh said that two divers will now continue their daily training at a National Sports School which is under the federal government's supervision.

She added that former national diver Bryan Lomas, who is also national technical director for diving, said the duo has also been shortlisted for the national backup programme next year if they continue in several upcoming competitions.

Reward or no reward?

Yeoh urged the Terengganu administration to give the duo what they deserved for their achievement.

“The ministry hopes that the Terengganu state government will not discriminate against awarding incentives to these divers, given that they have also contributed medals to the Terengganu contingent,” she said.

Yesterday, there were conflicting media reports on whether the duo would get incentives.

Sinar Harian and RTM reported Terengganu Menteri Besar Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar as saying they would be getting incentives - which have yet to be finalised.

However, Bernama and state media TRDI reported Samsuri as saying that he would wait for a final report before deciding on whether to give them incentives.

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