RM5,000 after 50 years: but what about the interest?
In 1972, M Mahendran was hailed as Malaysia’s sportsman of the year. He was promised RM5,000, a princely sum at the time, enough to buy a modest house. Yet for half a century, he never saw a cent.
Last week, the Malaysian Hockey Confederation quietly settled the debt. Days earlier, cyclist Ng Joo Ngan, the 1970 sportsman of the year, was told he would finally receive his RM5,000 too.
Other winners from that golden era — badminton’s Sylvia Ng, bowling’s JB Koo — are expected to follow. Athletics, meanwhile, is only now setting up a task force.
On the surface, it looks like closure: promises made, promises honoured.
But scratch deeper and the question looms: is RM5,000, untouched by inflation or interest, really justice after 50 years of neglect?
Both Mahendran and Ng have taken the high road, saying they were just grateful to finally receive the principal sum.
But their acceptance should not silence the larger debate: what is fair redress when promises to athletes are…
