Dark truths on ’98 Commonwealth Games emerge
From 2002, I penned more than a dozen commentaries requesting for the accounts of the 1998 Commonwealth Games to be made public. But those responsible, including the bigwigs at Sukom Ninety Eight Berhad (Sukom 98 Bhd) ignored the calls, pretended not to have read them, or felt it was too much “trouble” to engage with me.
R Nadeswaran, Newswav
But credit must go to Azalina Othman Said, who upon becoming the sports minister, spoke to me and instructed her officers to produce the documents.
But they could only show me the annual filings to the then Registrar of Companies (now Companies Commission) because the organisers were Sukom 98 Bhd, incorporated under the Companies Act.
The gullible media reported that “the accounts have been closed” and a letter to Malaysiakini even praised Azalina for her efforts.
The audited statement of accounts, which was closed at the end of 2002, saw the company posting a loss of RM11.6 million.
“We have finished with one chapter – that is the closing of the accounts. Sukom will now have to deal with how to settle it and where to raise the money. Of the RM11.6 million, a total of RM11.4 million is owed to the government,” The Star quoted Azalina as saying.
But how much did the government give in grants? How much was collected from other sources? They were never made public.
I persevered with a continuous barrage of questions for Hashim Mohd Ali, the executive chairperson of Sukom 98 and CEO Manap Ibrahim.
None were forthcoming.
Given the scandal that engulfed the bids made for the football World Cup at that time, I wrote: “It is pertinent to reiterate that every bid for any event – not necessarily football or sports – comes under heavy scrutiny.
“Even the slightest deviations from the norm is likely to be examined with a fine-tooth comb and every scribe worth his salt is likely to dig and dig every bid.”
