When a gold medallist who lifted the nation’s name on the world stage is forced to plead on social media, it is an indictment of the nation’s sporting bodies and reflective of the collapse of governance and integrity, said PKR vice-president Jimmy Puah.

“Disgraceful” was the single word the Tebrau MP used to describe the ordeal faced by Malaysia’s Paralympic badminton hero Cheah Liek Hou after his gold-medal triumph in Paris last year.