Disability sport in Malaysia

Disability sport in Malaysia
Selina Khoo, Ph.D.
（Sports Centre, University of Malaya）

1. Government policy towards persons with disabilities
In Malaysia, there is government support for persons with disabilities, and this isevident from the policies and programmes which have been introduced. Since thelaunch of the World Programme of Action Concerning Disabled Persons in 1982,
Malaysia has introduced various policies and programmes to improve the quality oflife of persons with disabilities. The National Social Welfare Policy was promulgatedin 1990 to create an independent, equitable, caring society. The Policy states thatfacilities and early detection will be provided for persons with disabilities to receive
treatment, rehabilitation, education and training, and efforts to integrate persons withdisabilities into society should be encouraged. Policies and programmes for persons
with disabilities in the country are guided by the strategic goals of the National Social
Welfare Policy which emphasized the attainment of self-reliance, equalization ofopportunities for the less fortunate and fostering the spirit of mutual help andsupport towards enhancing a caring culture.
After years of lobbying by disability organisations, the Persons with Disabilities
Act was promulgated in 2008. The Act provides “for the registration, protection,
rehabilitation, development and well-being of persons with disabilities, theestablishment of the National Council for Persons with Disabilities, and for mattersconnected therewith”（PartⅠ Preliminary p. 7）.The functions of the National Council
for Persons with Disabilities include overseeing, co-ordinating, monitoring andevaluating the implementation of national policies and plans pertaining to persons
with disabilities. Under the Act, an updated and current Register of Persons with
Disabilities will also be maintained.
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Malaysia’s commitment to improve the quality of life among the country’s
population of persons with disabilities is further ensured through the signing ofinternational conventions. Malaysia was a signatory to the Proclamation on Full
Participation and Equality of People with Disabilities in the Asia and Pacific Region
and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

2. Government support for disability sport
One area of government support is in disability sport. The Persons with Disabilities
Act 2008 ensures the right of persons with disabilities to participate in recreation,
leisure and sports activities. The Act states that the National Council for Persons
with Disabilities shall encourage participation of persons with disabilities in sports aswell as provide instruction, training and resources.
The National Sports Policy 1988 stresses the importance of “Sport for All”. One ofthe objectives of the Policy is to provide opportunities and facilities to meet basicsocial, psychological and physiological needs through sport. Implementation strategies
proposed in the policy took into account planning, organisation, personnel, funding,incentives and facilities. These strategies included developing professional andqualified sports personnel, co-operation among the sports bodies in the country, andproviding incentives to sportspersons.
The government’s involvement in disability sport includes funding the Malaysian
Paralympiad （a biennial national multi-sport and multi-disability competition） andfunding athletes to participate in international competitions. There is also a unit
under the Ministry of Youth and Sports which looks after the development of
disability sport. The government recently built the Kampung Pandan Centre of
Excellence for Paralympic Sports. The Centre has a swimming pool and facilities forarchery, badminton, basketball and goalball. Under the National Sports Council, theParalympic division（established in 2007）provides training and support for athleteswith disabilities, including nutrition and sports psychology. The government also
promotes equal opportunities for athletes with disabilities in terms of training andallowance during training. Athletes with disabilities also receive cash incentives fromthe government for winning medals at international competitions. The first time theyreceived incentives was for the 1992 Paralympic Games.
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Disability sport in Malaysia

3. Development of disability sport
Disability sport in Malaysia started in the 1970s when sports were organised on an
ad-hoc basis and Malaysians did not take part in many competitions. Most sports
started within each disability group.
Athletes with physical disabilities were the first group to take part in sports. Mr. H.
M. Storey, a founder member of the Society of the Orthopaedically Handicapped
Malaysia, started sports for athletes with physical disabilities. The Society started
sending athletes to the Stoke Mandeville Games in the early 1970s where Malaysian
athletes took part in athletics and powerlifting. Athletes with physical disabilities in
Malaysia now participate in a variety of sports, including archery, athletics, lawnbowls, powerlifting, sailing, shooting, swimming, table tennis, volleyball, wheelchairbasketball, wheelchair dance, wheelchair fencing and wheelchair tennis.
Sports for persons with visual impairment started slightly later. Recreational sports
for persons with visual impairment was organised by associations and schools for thevisually impaired. Popular recreational sports include chess, darts, dominoes, scrabble
and table tennis. The first national sports competition for persons with visual
impairment was held in Penang in 1979 where participants took part in athletics andswimming. Goalball started in Malaysia in the early 1990s. Gradually, more and more
sports were introduced in the late 1990s and early 2000s including futsal, judo, lawnbowls, tandem cycling and tenpin bowling.
Sports for persons with short stature started in the 1980s. The idea to establish an
association for this group was mooted in the early 1980s, and in 1985 a sports andwelfare club was established. Football was the first sport to be played, and when the
club was formed, more football events were organised. After joining the Malaysian
Paralympic Council in 1997, more sports were introduced for this disability category.
They include athletics, swimming and tenpin bowling.
Sports for persons with cerebral palsy started at the Spastic Children’s
Associations. The first sports to be introduced were athletics and swimming in the
mid-1980s. Boccia was introduced in the early 1990s. Other sports that persons withcerebral palsy in Malaysia play are tenpin bowling, football and table tennis. In
addition to high performance sport, the Spastic Children’s Associations also encourage
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boccia, carom and chess for recreation. The Associations organise annual sports days
for the students.
Sports for persons with intellectual disability also started in schools. Schools forchildren with intellectual disability organized school sports competitions for students.
Persons with intellectual disability participate in athletics, football, swimming, table
tennis and tenpin bowling. The first Special Olympics in Malaysia was held in Kuala
Lumpur in November 1992 and offered track and field events.

4. Disability sports organisations in Malaysia
The national governing body for sports for persons with disabilities is the
Malaysian Paralympic Council. In 1986, the Ministry of Youth and Sports, the Social
Welfare Services Department, the Malaysian Council for Rehabilitation and national
non-governmental disability organisations initiated the formation of a national
disability sports organisation. Representatives from five disability categories（cerebral
palsy, hearing impairment, intellectual disability, physical disability and visual
impairment）were part of the initial group. The Malaysian Sports Council for the
Disabled, a non-profit organisation, was established on 18 May 1989. The Council was
renamed the Malaysian Paralympic Council in 1996.
Currently, the Malaysian Paralympic Council has 23 affiliates which are made up of
14 disability sports organisations and 9 non-disability sports organisations. The list ofaffiliates is shown in Table 1. The objectives of the Malaysian Paralympic Council areto prepare athletes for international events, encourage an active lifestyle for persons
with disabilities, introduce new sports and recreation programmes and establish moretraining facilities for greater participation. The Malaysian Paralympic Council
organises the biennial Malaysian Paralympiad and annual Malaysian Paralympic
carnival.
The Paralympiad is an inter-state multi-disability and multi-sport competition. The
Paralympic carnival, on the other hand, provides opportunities for persons withdisabilities to take part in sports and to create awareness about disability sports inthe local community. The Malaysian Paralympic Council also trains qualified humanresource such as coaches, classifiers and technical officials. When a new sport isintroduced, a demonstration is usually held. This is followed by workshops and clinics
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Disability sport in Malaysia

Table 1 List of Malaysian Paralympic Council affiliates
Affiliates
1. Boccia Association of Malaysia
2. Disability Chess Association of Malaysia
3. Goalball Association of Malaysia
4. Malaysia Disabled Volleyball Association
5. Malaysia Para Athletics Association
6. Malaysia Para Powerlifting Association
7. Malaysian Blind Sports Association
8. Malaysian Para Carrom Association
9. Malaysian Para Tenpin Bowling Association
10. Malaysian Wheelchair Basketball
11. Malaysian Wheelchair Fencing Association
12. Malaysian Wheelchair Rugby Federation
13. Paralympic Athletics Coaches Association of Malaysia
14. Wheelchair Tennis Malaysia
15. Amateur Swimming Union of Malaysia
16. Badminton Association of Malaysia
17. Malaysia Canoe Association
18. Malaysia Sailing Association
19. Malaysian National Cycling Federation
20. Malaysian Rowing Association
21. National Archery Association of Malaysia
22. Petanque Federation of Malaysia
23. Table Tennis Association of Malaysia

to train coaches, classifiers and technical officials. Many courses were held to train
personnel when Malaysia hosted the 2006 FESPIC Games. Malaysia hasinternationally accredited classifiers in archery, badminton, lawn bowls, powerlifting,shooting, swimming, table tennis, tenpin bowling, and wheelchair basketball. There
are also Malaysians who are internationally accredited technical officials for sports
such as athletics, archery, boccia, goalball, lawn bowls, powerlifting, table tennis,
volleyball and wheelchair basketball.
There are efforts to promote disability sports throughout Malaysia. The Malaysian
Paralympic Council suggested establishing state-level disability organisations to do
this. These state disability sports and recreation councils were planned along thelines of the state sports councils for able-bodied sports. Its purpose was to be agovernment agency supported by the state Youth and Sports departments, state
Welfare departments, non-governmental organisations and sports associations.

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5. National competitions for athletes with disabilities
A national multi-sports and multi-disability sports competition has been organisedbiennially in Malaysia since 1982. Originally called the National Sport for the Disabled,
the name of the competition was changed to the Malaysian Paralympiad in 1998.
Various states in Malaysia have hosted the Malaysian Paralympiad. The aim of the
Malaysian Paralympiad is to identify talent as well as to increase the number of local
coaches, classifiers and technical officials.
From 1982 to 1996, only athletics and swimming competitions were held. The
number of sports increased in 1998 and again in 2000. The most number of sports
was included in 2004 when events in 20 sports（athletics, swimming, judo, sittingvolleyball, archery, wheelchair tennis, wheelchair basketball, lawn bowls, badminton,
powerlifting, table tennis, goalball, fencing, boccia, cycling, soccer, shooting, tenpin
bowling, sailing and chess）were held. The Games has grown in terms of the numberof sports as well as the number of participants. From 550 participants at the first
Games in 1982, the number increased to nearly 2,000 athletes in 2008 and 2012. South
East Asian countries participated in the Malaysian Paralympiad from 1990 to 1996
and in 2000, and Asian countries participated in the Games in 2002. Details of the
Malaysian Paralympiad are shown in Table 2.

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Disability sport in Malaysia

Table 2 Participation in the Malaysian Paralympiad
Year

Host

No. of participating states/countries

No. ofsportsNo. ofparticipants

1982

Kuala Lumpur

14

2

550

1984

Selangor

14

2

650

1986

Penang

14

2

750

1988

Kelantan

15

2

828

1990

Malacca17（included South East Asian countries） 2

853

1992

Terengganu

17（included South East Asian countries） 2

980

1994

Johore15（included South East Asian countries） 2

1,200

1996

Sarawak19（included South East Asian countries） 2

978

1998

Selangor

14

10

877

2000

Kuala Lumpur

23（included South East Asian countries） 17

1,239

2002

Kuala Lumpur

23（included Asian countries）

16

937

2004

Kuala Lumpur

15

20

1,081

2006

Kuala Lumpur

15

16

1,203

2008

Kuala Lumpur

15

14

1,910

2010

Malacca

15

16

1368

2012

Pahang

15

17

1,900

2014

Perlis15

9

Not available

6. Participation in international multi-sport and multi-disability
competitions
Malaysians have been taking part in international competitions since the 1970s. The
largest multi-sport and multi-disability competition that Malaysia takes part in is the
Paralympic Games. Malaysia first sent athletes to the Paralympic Games in 1972.
After a 16-year hiatus, Malaysia took part in the Paralympic Games again in 1988 andhas been taking part in every Games since then（see Table 3 for details of Malaysia’s
participation in the Paralympic Games）.
Malaysians have competed in athletics and powerlifting at all the Paralympic
Games that the country has taken part in. In total, Malaysia has won seven
Paralympic medals. The first medal was won by P. Mariappan when he won a bronze
medal in powerlifting in 1988. He is also the only Malaysian to win two Paralympic
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Table 4 Malaysian athletes’ participation in the FESPIC Games
Year

Host

No. ofMalaysianathletes

Medals Won
Gold

SilverBronze1982

Sha Tin, Hong Kong

30

7

13

7

1986

Surakarta, Indonesia

46

19

22

12

1989

Kobe, Japan

26

4

15

18

1994

Beijing, China

52

1

15

18

1999

Bangkok, Thailand

54

1

10

9

2002

Busan, South Korea

158

2

28

37

2006

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

288

44

60

71

Table 5 Malaysian athletes’ participation in the Asian Para Games
Year

Host

No. ofMalaysianathletes

Medals Won
Gold

SilverBronze2010

Guangzhou, China

115

9

13

23

2014

Incheon, South Korea

128

15

20

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Table 6 Malaysian athletes’ participation in the ASEAN Para Games
Year

Host

No. ofMalaysianathletes

Medals won
Gold

SilverBronze2001

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

188

135

79

87

2003

Hanoi, Vietnam

102

56

41

45

2005

Manila, Philippines

118

80

41

30

2008

Korat, Thailand

180

82

74

46

2009

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

258

94

81

71

2011

Solo, Indonesia

122

51

36

45

2014

Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar

150

50

49

41

2015

Singapore

191

52

58

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medals when he won another bronze medal at the 1992 Paralympic Games. The
number of Malaysian women in the Paralympic Games is less than their malecounterparts. There were no women in the Malaysian Paralympic contingent in 1972,1992 and 1996, and only one female Malaysian athlete in 1988. Siow Lee Chan is the24Disability sport in Malaysia

only Malaysian woman to win a Paralympic medal. She won a bronze medal inpowerlifting at the 2008 Paralympic Games in Beijing.
The Far East and South Pacific Games for the Disabled, better known as the
FESPIC Games, was a multi-sport and multi-disability competition in Asia and theSouth Pacific. It was first held in Oita, Japan in 1975. Malaysia first took part in thethird edition of the FESPIC Games in 1982. Malaysian athletes competed in threedisability categories, namely physical disability, visual impairment and cerebral palsy
in the Games in Hong Kong. Since then, Malaysia has taken part in subsequentFESPIC Games which were held every four years. Malaysia has won medals in all the
FESPIC Games that the country has taken part in. However, the best performance
was at the 9th and last FESPIC Games in Kuala Lumpur, where Malaysia won 44
gold, 60 silver and 71 bronze medals. Table 4 shows Malaysia’s participation in the
FESPIC Games.
The FESPIC Games was replaced by the Asian Para Games. To continue thetradition of the FESPIC Games, the Asian Para Games in 2010 was called the 10th
Asian Para Games. Table 5 shows Malaysia’s participation in the Asian Para Games.
The ASEAN Para Games is a biennial multi-sport and multi-disability competition
in South East Asia. Countries take turns to host the Games. The 1st ASEAN Para
Games, held in Kuala Lumpur in 2001, had only two sports – athletics and swimming.
The number of sports increased to 15 in the most recent Games in 2015. Malaysia hasdone well in the ASEAN Para Games. The country has been in the top three of the
medal tally in all the competitions and topped it once in 2001. Table 6 shows Malaysia’s participation in the ASEAN Para Games.
The Commonwealth Games is a multi-sport competition which involves athletes
from Commonwealth nations. The Games, which started in 1930, are held every four
years. Events for elite athletes with disabilities were included in exhibition events in1994 and from 2002, the Commonwealth Games have integrated events for athleteswith disabilities. Events for athletes with disabilities are part of the main competitionschedule, and medals are counted as part of the overall medal tally. Malaysian
athletes with disabilities have taken part in the Commonwealth Games and have won
a total of one silver and four bronze medals. In 2002, Malaysia won one silver medal
in athletics, two bronze medals in lawn bowls and one bronze medal in powerlifting.
In 2014, Malaysia won a bronze medal in powerlifting.
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7. Hosting international competitions
In addition to participating in international competitions, Malaysia has also played
host to numerous international disability sport competitions. Among the single-sportcompetitions the country has hosted are the Invacare World Team Wheelchair
Tennis Cup （1999）, IPC World Powerlifting Championship （2002）, 4th IPC World
Bowls Championship （2004）, 3rd Asia Pacific Archery Championship （2004）, 1st
Asian Paralympic Badminton Cup （2004）, Asia and South Pacific Table Tennis
Championship（2005）, Asia Tenpin Bowling Championship（2005）, Malaysian OpenUNIQLO International Wheelchair Tennis Tour Championship （2015） and IPC
Powerlifting World Cup（2016）. Three multi-sports and multi-disability competitions
that Malaysia has hosted are the ASEAN Para Games, FESPIC Games and Asian
Youth Para Games.
Malaysia has hosted the ASEAN Para Games twice （2001 and 2009）. The 1st
ASEAN Para Games was held in Kuala Lumpur from 25 to 30 October 2001. The
Games had events in athletics and swimming. A total of 548 athletes from the 10
ASEAN countries （Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar,
Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam）participated in the Games. Malaysia
succeeded in setting 11 new regional records in athletics. Kuala Lumpur again hosted
the ASEAN Para Games in 2009 when Laos could not host it. Approximately 1,000
athletes from the 10 ASEAN countries and Timor Leste competed in 11 sports（athletics, badminton, bowling, chess, power-lifting, swimming, sailing, table tennis,
volleyball, wheelchair basketball and wheelchair tennis）. Malaysia will be hosting theASEAN Para Games again in 2017.
The largest disability sport competition Malaysia hosted was the last FESPICGames（25 November to 1 December 2006）.Held in Kuala Lumpur, it was a record ofsorts for the FESPIC Games. It had the most number of countries participating, thelargest number of athletes and the most number of sports. About 4,000 athletes from47 countries from Asia and Oceania took part in 19 sports. It was the first time thatcountries from West Asia took part. Over 2,000 medals were won during the Games.
Athletes in the Games were truly world class. Twenty seven International Paralympic
Committee（IPC）world records were broken in athletics, archery and powerlifting.
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Disability sport in Malaysia

More than 60 new FESPIC Games records were set in athletics, archery, powerliftingand swimming.
Malaysia also hosted the Asian Youth Para Games from 26 to 30 October 2013.
Over 1,200 athletes with disanilities aged between 15 to 19 years from 30 countries
participated in 14 sports（archery, athletics, badminton, boccia, chess, goalball, judo,
powerlifting, swimming, table tennis, tenpin bowling, sitting volleyball, wheelchairtennis and wheelchair basketball）. Malaysia was fourth in the medal tally with 19
gold, 22 silver and 18 bronze medals.

8. Relationship with the International Paralympic Committee
Malaysia is an active member of the IPC and has hosted IPC events, for example
the IPC Strategic Planning Congress in 2001, Asian Women in Paralympic Sport
Leadership Summit in 2008 and the IPC General Assembly in 2009.
At the 2001 IPC Strategic Planning Congress, about 250 delegates from 75 countries
discussed themes related to the governance, roles, responsibilities and structure of
the IPC. It was agreed that the focus of the Paralympic Movement should be on sport
and the role of Paralympic athletes within its governing structure should be
strengthened.
The aim of the Asian Women in Paralympic Sport Leadership Summit was toempower women to be leaders in the Paralympic Movement. Over 60 participantsfrom 19 countries attended the 2008 Summit, and contributed to a regional action
plan to increase gender equity for girls and women in the Paralympic movement inAsia.
At the 2009 IPC General Assembly, approximately 350 participants from National
Paralympic Committees, disability specific sport federations, International Federations,and various regions and sports were present. The Assembly ratified nine National
Paralympic Committees as members and agreed to re-include athletes withintellectual disabilities in competitions, including the Paralympic Games.

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9. International aid for disability sport
There has not been much international aid for disability sport in Malaysia.
However, Japanese organisations, such as the Japan International Cooperation
Agency （JICA） and the Japanese Chamber of Trade & Industry, Malaysia（JACTIM）, have contributed. The aim of JICA is “to contribute to the promotion ofinternational cooperation as well as the sound development of Japanese and global
economy by supporting the socioeconomic development, recovery or economic
stability of developing regions”. Projects funded by JICA include training Malaysian
sports instructors in Japan as well as hiring coaches to work in Malaysia. JACTIM
was established to promote economic relations between Malaysia and Japan. Funding
from JACTIM has been used to buy equipment for disability sport.

10. Expectation for assistance from Japan for disability sport
In order to raise the standard of disability sport in Malaysia, there is a need totrain more coaches. At present, there are no Malaysians who are internationallycertified coaches. Coaching camps could be conducted in Malaysia so that more
people can be trained. This is preferable to sending a few people overseas fortraining.
Bibliography
Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific. 1992. Proclamation on the fullparticipation and equality of people with disabilities in the Asian and Pacific Region.
Japan International Cooperation Agency. Official website of Japan International Cooperation
Agency. Retrieved from http://www.jica.go.jp/english/（2016/05/29）
Khoo, Selina. 2008. “International Paralympic events and achievements.” In Ahmad Sarji bin
Abdul Hamid（ed.）, Encyclopedia of Malaysia: Sports and Recreation（Vol. 15, pp. 156-157）.
Singapore: Archipelago Press.
──2008. “Paralympic organizations and national competitions.” In Ahmad Sarji bin Abdul
Hamid （ed.）, Encyclopedia of Malaysia: Sports and Recreation Vol. 15, Singapore:
Archipelago Press pp. 154-155.
──2011. “New direction: disability sport in Malaysia.” Sport in Society, 14 （9）, 1285-1290.
doi:10.1080/17430437.2011.614785
Social Welfare Department. Official website of the Social Welfare Department of Malaysia.
National Social Welfare Policy. （1990）. National Sports Policy （1988）. Persons with28

Disability sport in Malaysia
Disabilities Act.（2008）. Documents retrieved from http://www.jkm.gov.my（2016/05/29）.
United Nations. 2006. Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and its Optional
Protocol. Retrieved from http://www.un.org/disabilities/documents/convention/
convoptprot-e.pdf（2016/05/29）.

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パラリンピック研究会

紀要 vol.6

マレーシア連邦における障がい者スポーツを取り巻く現状
セリナ・クー（マラヤ大学スポーツセンター）

本稿は，マレーシアにおける障がい者スポーツの歴史を振り返り，発展および功績に関する実態の把握を目的とする。パラリンピック競技大会，アジアパラ競技大会，極東・
南太平洋身体障害者スポーツ大会（FESPIC Games），ASEAN パラ競技大会など総合
スポーツ競技大会や総合障がい者スポーツ競技大会への参加をはじめとし，マレーシアの障がい者スポーツの歩みを1970年代から現在に至るまで辿る。さらに，マレーシアにおける障がい者スポーツ団体の役割について，政府と NGO が協力して障がい者スポー
ツの振興に取り組んでいる。政府は，障がい者スポーツ奨励のため，政策，施設および財政面での支援に力を入れている。障がい者スポーツの統括組織であるマレーシアパラ
リンピック協議会（Malaysia Paralympic Council）は，障がい者の活動的なライフス
タイルの奨励に努め，新しいスポーツやレクリエーションプログラムの紹介に尽力している。そして，マレーシアはフェスピック競技大会，アジアパラユース競技大会，
ASEAN パラ競技大会などの各競技大会とともに国際パラリンピック委員会の会議・会合等の主催国として，国際的な役割を果たしている。

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