The FMT
June 25, 2020 9:23 AM
Russel Nasir Taib broke Malaysia’s 200m record at the Queensland Track
Classic in Brisbane in last year.
PETALING
JAYA: A national record holder has finally received good news from the National
Sports Council (NSC), after more than a year of forking out his own money for training
despite much fanfare in 2019 when he was presented with a mock cheque.
NSC informed Russel Nasir Taib, who broke the 200m record at the Queensland Track Classic in Brisbane last year, that he had been recruited for the 2020 Podium Programme, for which he will be paid RM2,000 in monthly allowance until year-end.
NSC’s athletes division director Jefri Ngadirin said Russel was added to the programme in April although he had not signed a contract.
This
follows FMT’s report that he had only received RM1,000 from the RM21,000
promised to him, as part of the development programme of the International
Association of Athletics Federations.
Russel
said he had not received a single sen since he started training for Malaysia
five years ago, first in Tasmania and now in Brisbane.
He
also said he had spent more than RM100,000 a year for training since 2015.
Jefri
said Russel had rejected the first offer for a place in the Podium Programme in
June last year, three months after clocking 20.77s to erase Khairul Hafiz Jantan’s
national record of 20.90s set at the 2017 Malaysian Open.
The
contract which was designed for local athletes was not suitable as Russel was
in Australia, he said.
He
said Russel was offered the programme for this year to strengthen the 4×100
quartet and for him to compete in the 200m.
Russel,
22, was overjoyed to hear that he was in the Podium Programme, as well as to be
informed that allowances owed to him and incentives for winning silver and
bronze at the 2019 Philippines SEA Games had been paid.
Russel’s
management team, Team Taib, blamed the confusion on poor communication with a
certain NSC officer, adding that Russel, who is based in Australia, did not
have an online banking facility for his Malaysian bank account.
Speaking
to FMT from London, Team Taib adviser Russell Thompson said he hoped the
RM20,000 in training expenses owed to Russel by the Malaysia Athletics
Federation (MAF) would also be resolved soon.
The
money was part of the annual IAAF Olympics Athletics Dividend grant of
US$25,000 allocated to MAF for various activities including athlete
development.
The
non-payment of the money, which was in MAF’s account, triggered a spat between
its president SM Muthu and his predecessor Karim Ibrahim.
MAF
deputy president Mumtaz Jaafar has given her assurance to NSC that the matter
will be resolved soon.
FINALLY CHEERS FOR RUSSEL
Tony Mariadass
National 200m record holder Russel Alexander Nasir
Taib, has finally got some good news not from Malaysia Athletics Federation
(MAF), but National Sports Council (NSC).
The
22-year-old Malaysian-English parentage athlete, who has been training in
Brisbane, Australia, has been for the last 15 months trying get his RM20,000
training funds given by MAF as part of the annual IAAF Olympics Athletics
Dividend grant of US$25,000 allocated for various activities including
athletics development.
While
the issue is still not resolved by MAF, NSC gave Russel to overjoyed, when
Jefri Ngadirin, the athletes’ division director, in response to FMT’s query
about a contract with them which was not signed by Russel, said that thinks
have been sorted out.
“Russel
was offered to be placed under the Podium programme in June 2019 after he set a
new national record of 20.77 in the 200m at the Queensland Track Classic in
Brisbane on March 23 to erase Khairul Hafiz Jatan record of 20.90s set at the
2017 Malaysian Open,” recalled Jefri.
“But
he did not sign up for the Podium programme because the contract offered was
not suitable, as the Russel was based in Brisbane.
“However,
Russel was still offered to be in the Podium programme for 2020, as part of our
plans to strengthen the 4X100 quartet and for him to compete in the 200m.
“The
Russel’s training programme will be drawn by chief coach for sprints Dwanye
Miler, and will be discussed at the coaches meeting together with MOA, before
being brought to the NSC Working Committee for athletics next month (July).”
Russel
had trained for a month at NSC under Miler after the Sea Games, when NSC took
care of all expenses which included accommodation, meals, allowance and
airfare.
“In
the meantime Russel has already been included in the Podium Programme and will
receive a RM2,000 training allowance from April to December although he has yet
to sign a contract. We will discuss with later on how best we can work on the
contract.
“In
fact we have already banked in his April and May allowance to Russel’s local
bank account.”
Jefri
also said that NSC have also paid out the incentive to his bank account for
winning a silver (4 X 100m) and bronze (200m) at the 2019 Philippines Sea Games
amounting to RM1,750 last December itself.
While Russel welcomed the good news and said: “I am pleased for the
incentive for the bronze and silver medal for Sea Games 2019, and the news that
I am under the NSC podium programme from April to December 2020 and will
receive an allowance. This will help to contribute towards my training and
coaching expenses in Australia.”
Russel also added: “I was very pleased to be training under coach Dwayne
Miller in January this year. It was the first time to have that experience or
any type of training camp.
“As I train mostly alone on the track and in the gym without
accessibility to sports science, this training time with Miller was beneficial
and I appreciate that. I hope we might be able to repeat these type experiences
in the future.”
However, Team Taib (Russel’s management
team) headed by consultant and advisor, Russell Thompson, who is based in London,
said that although he too was happy with the way things are finally moving
forward, but affirmed that all that Jefri has said was news to him.
“We have been trying to get
information constantly, but due to poor communication with the officer (Muzhafa)
for athletics in NSC, we have not been duly informed of many matter,” said
Thompson.
“It is clearly just simply lack of
communications with NSC and the general issues of we don’t told if we were
awarded funds and don’t receive any remittance advice on email or anything when
fund are despatched.
‘Russel does not live in Malaysia and
does not have internet banking on his account. We rely on them to tell us if
funds are sent.
“Our only communication was the
athletes’ officer until FMT gave the contact to Jefri.
“I had called him a while ago and it
was good conversation where we will sort things out with him at a later. We at
Team Taib are glad that everything is falling in place with NSC. Now we wait
for MAF to resolve the RM20,000 owing to Russel.”
Jefri said on the MAF matter: “The
arrangement of the fund for Russel was between him and MAF, and NSC has nothing
to do with it.
“However, after contacting MAF deputy-president
Mumtaz Jaafar, she told me that the matter will be resolved at their level
through discussion between MAF president SM Muthu and past president Karim
Ibrahim.”
Ends.
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