Things became heated when photos of his wife and son, seated in the VIP section, started making its rounds online
TAN Sri Mohamad Norza Zakaria got caught in a pickle when seen at the Paris Olympic with family in tow.
In essence, this is a classic case of entitled selfishness, subjecting integrity to death by a thousand cuts.
The politician-turned-corporate man has had an amazing run in both those areas, as well as in sports governing. The storm in the tea cup — that’s all it is for him, I’m sure — comes just before he celebrates his 58th birthday later this month.
His presence in Paris, host of the 2024 Olympics, was fully justified. He is the president of the Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM), a post he won unopposed in May 2018.
He was at the badminton arena, watching Malaysian players slugging it out to win medals for the nation. Here, too, he has every right to be present.
He is, after all, the president of the Badminton Association Malaysia (BAM), a post he has held since 2017. And he must have done his fair share to advance badminton in Malaysia.
Things became heated when photos of his wife and son, seated in the VIP section, started making its rounds online.
Netizens began questioning if they came on public funds. A fair question.
On Aug 7, the National Sports Council released a statement to clarify the matter. It noted that the funding cost for the OCM delegation to the Paris 2024 Olympic Games was under OCM’s responsibility, adding that the cost of financing OCM guests was borne by the parties concerned and did not involve government funds.
It said: “OCM is only responsible for financing the costs involving athletes, coaches, OCM officers, the National Sports Institute and the operations of Malaysia House for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, France.
“Funding costs for OCM delegation are under the responsibility of OCM and for their guests they are paid by the parties concerned and do not involve government funds.”
In a separate statement, OCM made it clear that no government funding went towards the travel of Norza’s family, adding that all expenses for the family were personally covered by him, with the OCM and Olympic Committee (IOC) “only facilitating his arrangements”.
So far, so good. We seem to have clear ground rules as to who pays for what. You can sponsor your entire kampong to Paris as long as you do not tap government funding or abuse your power.
On paper, Norza is more than able to pay for the Paris trip for his family. The trained accountant, one-time Federal Territory head of UMNO Youth and former political secretary to former Minister Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop, is the executive chairman of a public-listed company.
Here is more from OCM on this matter.
“Tan Sri Norza attended the Olympics in Paris with his family, seated in the VIP area at Arena Porte de La Chapelle. This arrangement was made possible through a special quota granted by the [IOC].
“This special quota is designated for high-ranking officials such as presidents and secretary generals of national Olympic committees, heads of state, heads of governments and sports ministers.
“It provides access solely to VIP areas and does not extend to the field of play, dressing rooms or athletes’ accommodation at the games village, making it impractical for coaches or support staff.
“Therefore, even if such a quota were provided to a coach, he or she would not be allowed the necessary access to effectively support his or her athletes.”
In his defence, Norza had this to the media: “I do not receive any salary from both organisations [OCM and BAM] or allowances. I want to help bring glory and pride to our nation.”
Again, we’ve heard this before.
Many speak of doing public service, a term we often hear.
Why do officials like Norza get the “special quota”? It is linked to the positions they hold in their respective sport organisations.
That being the case, they should use the so-called “special quota” to further benefit the organisation they represent. They should make the best of the opportunity. They can, for example, invite to the VIP area someone who can contribute to the development of the game back in Malaysia.
One newspaper reported about limited accreditation slots for coaches and other technical positions at the Olympics. It cited some examples: Japan’s head coach Park Joo-bong watching his charges play from the stands in Paris, then-BAM technical director Morten Frost Hansen failing to get an accreditation at Rio 2016, and then-doubles head coach Yap Kim Hock suffering the same at Beijing 2008.
There you go. This, in itself, presents instant opportunities as to how those valuable passes can be deployed.
People in authority do organisations a disservice when they pass the passes to family and friends. They render hollow their selfless service claim. Some may even believe that they are truly entitled to those perks.
Norza may be the focus here, but the lesson applies to a whole spectrum of leaders, including politicians.
- Habhajan Singh is the corporate editor of The Malaysian Reserve.
- This article first appeared in The Malaysian Reserve weekly print edition
