Playing in Paris not a failure, but mediocre, says KJ

Former Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said the performance of the Malaysian contingent was commendable, though average compared to previous performances. (Photo by KS on Facebook)

PETALING JAYA: Former Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin has defended the performance of the Malaysian contingent at the Paris Olympics, saying their overall performance was not a failure.

Khairy, who brought back two bronze medals from the Paris Games, said the athletes’ performances were commendable, although they were average compared to previous performances.

He said the latest medal haul matched Malaysia’s performances in Atlanta 1996 and London 2012, but was less than the five medals won in Rio 2016.

“I don’t see this as a failure, but we have to acknowledge that our results were average.

“Expectations were high, especially after the success in Rio, but it’s important to remember that those five medals were a highlight in our Olympic history,” he said on the latest episode of the Keluar Sekejap podcast.

Earlier, Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh apologised for the Malaysian contingent’s failure to win the country’s first Olympic gold at the Paris Olympics.

Yeoh said an audit report on the contingent’s performance will be submitted to parliament, but added that the Road to Gold programme has been set up for both the Paris and Los Angeles Olympics in 2028.

KJ and Shahril questioned by officers

Meanwhile, Khairy and co-host Shahril Hamdan revealed that they were questioned by police over a Keluar Sekejap episode featuring Sarawak Chief Minister Abang Johari Openg last month.

According to Khairy, the investigation revolved around complaints about the debate on Sarawak’s autonomy, with one complainant claiming that the issue supported Sarawak’s secession from Malaysia.

“We asked the prime minister whether Sarawak considers itself a country within a country. Someone interpreted that as a call for secession (from the country), which is absolutely not what we meant,” the former Umno Youth leader said.

Khairy said that he and Shahril themselves were pseudo-journalists and that this had led to some concern about the implications of such investigations.

“Although the police officers were professional (in their interrogation), we remained concerned.”

In the past, proponents of Sarawak’s secession from Malaysia were threatened with investigations under the Sedition Act.

Voon Lee Shan, the chairman of Parti Bumi Kenyalang, has been one of the most outspoken figures on the issue. In 2019, he said that it was not against the law to talk about Sarawak’s independence or secession.

Khairy also said that the ongoing police investigation into a Malaysiakini report about an expected major shake-up within the police force was unnecessary, adding that the case should have ended with the denial of the report by Police Inspector General Razarudin Husain.

“Isn’t this a bit exaggerated? Even speculating about cabinet reshuffles has never led to such critical scrutiny in the past.”