KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 12 (Bernama) — The issue of funding involving Malaysia Pro Cycling (MPC) and Terengganu Cycling Team (TSG) to form the national road race squad for the 2025 SEA Games in Thailand is expected to be resolved this week after negotiations between the National Sports Council (MSN) and the Malaysian National Cycling Federation (MNCF) were held.
MSN director-general Jefri Ngadirin said his party had agreed to send them through Category A but the amount of assistance depends on the results of negotiations with MNCF since the amount requested is quite large.
“We will provide assistance but the amount will depend on our negotiations with the association. Because the amount requested is quite large, we will see if it is suitable with the allocation we have.
“Don’t forget, this time we are sending almost 50 sports associations, 50 types of sports and involving almost 800 to 900 athletes. So the amount is very large for the government to bear. So I want all parties, especially the association, to be patient and also wait to see how much assistance we will provide them,” he said after the Thailand SEA Games Selection Meeting at Wisma OCM, today.
MNCF previously submitted an additional fund application to MSN of RM250,000 on July 31 along with planning proposals and preparation requirements involving two national continental status teams, TSG and MPC.
Meanwhile, MNCF secretary, Ahmad Arif Astaman announced that the initial breakdown of the country's road race squad for the SEA Games is 4-4-1 involving four TSG riders, four MPC riders and another one from the national squad.
“We want to give MSN the full opportunity to make its consideration, while MNCF will discuss with the teams involved.
“This is a mission to defend the two road race gold medals won in two consecutive editions. We will ensure that the best team is fielded,” he said.
Earlier, TSG and MPC stressed that if the additional budget requested is not met, they will not release riders to represent the country at the Games.
-- BERNAMA
