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Athletes earn right to fly S’pore flag if they meet criteria, says senior sports official

SINGAPORE – A senior sports official has hit out at Singapore National Olympic Council (SNOC) vice-president Ng Ser Miang’s remarks that representing Singapore in sporting events is “a privilege and not a birth right”, describing the International Olympic Committee (IOC) member’s assertion as “fatally flawed” and “a travesty”.

Singapore Swimming Association vice-president Jose Raymond (left) and Singapore National Olympic Council vice-president Ng Ser Miang. Photo: Jose Raymond's Facebook page and TODAY file photo

Singapore Swimming Association vice-president Jose Raymond (left) and Singapore National Olympic Council vice-president Ng Ser Miang. Photo: Jose Raymond's Facebook page and TODAY file photo

SINGAPORE – A senior sports official has hit out at International Olympic Committee (IOC) member Ng Ser Miang’s remarks that representing Singapore in sporting events is “a privilege and not a birth right”, describing Ng's assertion as “fatally flawed” and “a travesty”.

Mr Jose Raymond, the vice-president (partnerships) at the Singapore Swimming Association, wrote on his Facebook page on Friday (Sept 22) that athletes earn the right to represent the Republic at major sporting events when they qualify for the event on merit and according to qualification criteria that has been set.

He was refuting Mr Ng’s comments on Thursday (Sept 21) morning which accompanied a Facebook post about national distance runner Ashley Liew winning the International Fair Play Committee’s Pierre de Coubertin World Fair Play Trophy last September.

“When I read about athlete going to the media fighting for self interests without regard to the overall good of his sport, when one forgets that it is an honour and privilege and not a birth right to fly the flag of Singapore, I am reminded of Ashley,” wrote Mr Ng.

“Ashley is a shining example of sportsmanship and value...more precious than a gold medal.”

While no names were mentioned in Mr Ng’s post, South-east Asian Games marathon champion Soh Rui Yong (above) was in the news the past week as a result of his protestations about having to give 20 percent of his S$10,000 winnings, which he had earned from the Singapore National Olympic Council’s (SNOC) Multi-Million Dollar Awards Programme (MAP), to Singapore Athletics (SA) for training and development purposes.

The 26-year-old cited the infighting, and poor management at SA and its lack of support for athletes as his reasons for not wanting to do so.

Following Mr Ng’s post, Mr Raymond wrote on Facebook on Friday evening: “... Ng Ser Miang’s assertion that it is a privilege and not a birth right to represent the country is fatally flawed. As birth citizens and holders of the Singapore passport, every Singaporean is rightfully representing the country all the time.

“For our athletes, it becomes a right to represent Singapore when they qualify on merit and based on qualification criteria set. This is a right, and not a privilege as their hard work and dedication towards their respective sports have earned them the right to bear the Singapore flag.

“To deny them their right to represent the country and state that it’s a privilege is a travesty.

“All sports bodies need to be geared towards helping our athletes perform and achieve for Singapore. The MAP awards given out by SNOC courtesy of the Tote Board may be considered a privilege but not the right to represent the country.”

When contacted on Friday, Mr. Ng told TODAY that his comments were not aimed at any athlete in particular.

“I wasn’t specifically commenting on Soh Rui Yong but it was positioned so (in reports).” He added that he had no further comments on the matter.

Mr Raymond told TODAY he had nothing further to add when contacted on Friday evening.

On his part, Mr Soh is willing to sit down face to face with Mr. Ng to explain his reasons for refusing to contribute a percentage of his winnings to SA.

“I respect Mr Ng’s feedback and will take his words into consideration for future development as a Team Singapore athlete,” he told TODAY.

“I’m happy to meet with Mr Ng to better explain the things he might not have a complete understanding of - specific examples of how Singapore Athletics has hindered, rather than helped, numerous athletes, what can be done to improve the system, and why I was happy to donate my 20 per cent in 2015 but not this year.”

 

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