Puncak Borneo MP Willie calls for safeguards in sports law amendments

KUCHING: Puncak Borneo MP Datuk Willie Mongin has called for stronger safeguards on ministerial powers, more inclusive eligibility rules for Para SUKMA athletes and tighter controls over anti-doping procedures.

While supporting the Sports Development (Amendment) Bill 2026 in principle, Willie said its implementation must strengthen transparency, fairness and good governance across Malaysia’s sports system.

His concerns centred on three areas – powers to declare or cancel the registration of sports bodies, age eligibility for Para SUKMA athletes and the handling of anti-doping samples.

On sports associations, Willie said the Bill should clearly define the respective powers of the Minister, Commissioner of Sports and Registrar of Societies to prevent overlapping authority over the same organisation.

He said it should also spell out who has final authority, how investigations are conducted, the right of affected parties to be heard and the available appeal mechanisms.

“We want firm enforcement, but it must be accompanied by due process, fairness and good governance,” he said during debate on the Bill in the Dewan Rakyat today.

The proposed amendments would allow the Minister to declare a sports body unlawful if it is used for purposes deemed harmful to national security, public order or morality, with its registration capable of being cancelled with immediate effect.

Willie also questioned the use of age as the sole eligibility criterion for Para SUKMA athletes.

He said athletes aged 45, 46 or even 50 who remain healthy and meet the required classification, fitness and performance standards should not automatically be excluded from competition.

Instead, he proposed that eligibility be determined primarily by performance, health and classification, adding that experienced athletes could also play an important mentoring role for younger competitors.

On anti-doping measures, Willie raised concerns over Malaysia’s reliance on WADA-accredited laboratories overseas, particularly over transportation time, logistics, sample security and chain of custody.

He proposed that the Government study the feasibility of establishing a national doping control laboratory capable of meeting international standards and securing WADA accreditation.

Until then, he suggested setting up a high-security sample collection and storage centre equipped with tamper-evident seals, CCTV surveillance, access controls and digital chain-of-custody records before samples are sent overseas.

“These three issues share one common objective – to ensure that Malaysian sports are not only high-performing, but also fair, inclusive, transparent and built on integrity,” he said.

The Sports Development (Amendment) Bill 2026 was tabled for first reading in the Dewan Rakyat on Oct 5, with its second reading scheduled for today.