Ex-para athlete Mohd Raduan rejected previous job offer from NSC - DG

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 7 -- Former national para athlete Mohd Raduan Emeari, citing family commitments, had rejected a prior job offer from the National Sports Council (NSC) to assist the national squad, NSC director-general Datuk Ahmad Shapawi said.

News that the former sprinter, who competed at the 2008 Beijing Paralympic Games, was working at a petrol station in Kuala Selangor, had recently gone viral, causing some to question the lack of incentive or jobs for athletes post-retirement.

According to Ahmad Shapawi, after being dropped from the Podium Programme at the end of 2017, Raduan also did not participate in any championships as he wanted to focus on his wife and child.

“Yet he was appointed as a para athletics grassroots talent scout since 2020 till now, with a monthly payment of RM350 to assist the NSC to unearth new talent in the sport in Selangor,” he said in a statement today.

Ahmad Shapawi said Raduan’s involvement in the NSC programme began on a part-time basis in 2007 with a monthly allowance of RM500, before he was absorbed as a full-time athlete in 2009 with a monthly allowance between RM1,500 and RM2,000 depending on his performance in sporting events until 2015.

“In 2016, Raduan was admitted into the Podium Programme under the supervision of the National Sports Institute with a monthly allowance of RM4,500 until he was dropped from the programme due to performance factors at the end of 2017,” he added.

The former 39-year-old sprinter had represented Malaysia in several editions of the ASEAN Para Games from 2005 to 2017, and won five gold medals during that period. He also competed at the 2010 Guangzhou Para Asian Games and the subsequent edition in Incheon four years later, in addition to the 2008 Paralympic Games in Beijing.

The NSC also worked closely with the National Athletes Welfare Foundation (YAKEB) to meet former athletes to see if they needed any assistance that was within the capacity of the NSC.

“The foundation has also met Raduan yesterday to offer him a basic business course that will be implemented soon and they will also help if Raduan was interested in starting a business.

“The Youth and Sports Ministry and NSC, through YAKEB, will continue to positively open up the best avenues and opportunities that we can share with other stakeholders to continue to help former national athletes build their livelihoods after retiring from sports,” he added.

-- BERNAMA