Not right to bar Israelis from taking part in World Para Swimming Championships – Tiang

• The Borneo Post
• 21 Jan 2019
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KUCHING: Malaysia has no right to bar Israelis from taking part in the World Para Swimming Championships hosted by Sarawak from July 29 to Aug 4.

        In pointing this out yesterday, Sarawak United People’s Party ( SUPP) Youth chief Michael Tiang said the Pakatan Harapan ( PH) federal government had abused its role as a host country for the forthcoming global sports event.

He condemned the federal government’s decision to ban Israeli swimmers from competing in the championships organised by the Paralympic Council of Malaysia and Sarawak government.

      “The swimming championships is a world sports event, not a political event. Malaysia, as a mere host to this sports event, has no right to impose political and diplomatic reasons to stop Israeli athletes or any athletes from any countries from participating in this world sports event,” he said in a statement yesterday.

He was commenting on the federal cabinet’s recent decision to impose a blanket ban on all Israelis participating in the World Para Swimming Championships hosted by Sarawak.

        AFP quoted the International Paralympic Committee ( IPC) as saying that it was disappointed with Malaysia’s decision to bar Israeli swimmers from entering the country.

Tiang, who is a political secretary to the chief minister, said the federal government had tarnished the Olympic spirit which promoted friendship, solidarity and fair play by banning Israeli athletes from entering Malaysia.

He feared that such a move would render Malaysia unfit to be a part of any Olympic events.

Because of this, he urged PH leaders to come forward to challenge the federal cabinet’s decision.

“This (the ban) is definitely against our countrymen’s aspirations towards building a ‘ Malaysia Baru’ (new Malaysia) in this new era.”

Since the international sports event is co- organised by the Sarawak government, Tiang called upon the Sarawak government to exercise the state’s immigration autonomy.

        Such immigration autonomy, according to him, is provided in Annex E of the Malaysia Agreement 1963 ( MA63) to allow Israeli athletes to fly directly into Sarawak to participate in the event.

     “Kuching is the host and Sarawak welcomes any athletes from around the world to participate in this Para Swimming Championships,” he asserted.

Tiang opined that the Sarawak government should make a firm stand on this matter to express the state’s dissent to the entry ban decided by the federal government.

He stressed that such ban is totally uncalled for.

     “Since Kuching is the host of the event, Sarawak should show to the world that we uphold the Olympic spirit and that sportsmanship goes beyond politics.

      “And Kuching is a world renowned city of solidarity that welcomes anyone to come to this part of the world,” added Tiang.

My comments:

This is the only leader whom I see has enough courage and sense to voice out what is right.  Unlike other leaders who are so federal-centred, minded, and oriented.  Time will tell whom people will reject in the 2021 Sarawak election.  In the age of advanced internet, most people are not easy to be fooled anymore.  If you still think that those people from ulu-ulu areas are still easy preys to the predators like GPS-crowned / PH-crowned political thugs, you are wrong up to 80%.  

        Once, the people from these ulu-ulu areas had no choice but took the bride and lost the pride, they cast the vote to the sole candidate in their areas.  But now, these people from the ulu-ulu areas have the choice to select the local opposition leaders to counter the very corrupt leaders from the ruling coalition.

        So the 2021 Sarawak election will be the most challenging election for all Sarawakians.  I hope that Sarawakians know how to vote Sarawak out of the Malaysia federation.  Enough means enough.