KUCHING: The decision by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) on Sunday to strip Malaysia of the right to host the 2019 World Para Swimming Championships after the country banned Israeli athletes from participating is indeed a sad day for Sarawak, said Piasau assemblyman, Datuk Sebastian Ting.
To him, the world of sports should be above politics.
“This is something we should not entangle with politics. Sports are things to do with the physical abilities of people. Politics and sports should be two different things and not be mixed at all. The championships, a qualifier for the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics, had been scheduled to be held in Kuching between July 29 and Aug 4. It is expected to be a big boost for us in terms of tourism,” he said.
Ting pointed out that Malaysia was awarded the championships in 2017 and the IPC had been given assurances that all eligible athletes and countries would be allowed to participate with their safety assured. But then, there was a change of political leadership and the new Malaysian government has different ideas.
As Malaysia does not maintain diplomatic relations with Israel, barring the Israelis was more of a political decision than a sporty decision, he said.
He argued that we must show to the world that we live in harmony with many different races and religions.
This, he lamented, is truly a sad case of us not being able to show that we are “different” from what is assumed by the outside world now that we are not allowed to play host.
Around 600 swimmers from 60 countries are expected to compete in the championships in Sarawak with more than 160 titles to be won.
