KUALA LUMPUR: Sports Commissioner Datuk Zaiton Othman will advise the Malaysian National Cycling Federation (MNCF) against a three-month ban on cyclist Zamri Saleh which she described as unfair.
Zamri, 31, was issued the ban for voicing out over his Facebook account a delay in disbursement of prize money from a race, which had been banked into the MNCF's accounts by the Sports Ministry prior to the race.
"It is unfair. We don't want to interfere, but we I will be advising MNCF president Datuk Abu Samah Wahab when I meet him tomorrow," said Zaiton, when contacted.
The suspension, according to the MNCF's letter to Terengganu Cycling Team (TSG) chief executive officer Ahmad Farhan Abdul Wahab, means Zamri cannot be registered by the team when the deadline ends ahead of the 2017 season, despite the ban ending on Jan 23.
The MNCF is already embroiled in yet another controversy over Abu Samah's bidding for the 2018 Asian Cycling Championships (ACC) Track events, which he aims to bring to the refurbished Velodrom Rakyat in Ipoh.
Discrepancies in the procedures of bidding for the international event is said to not follow guidelines under the Sports Development Act 1997, which requires approval by the Youth and Sports Minister in order to gain a permit via the Sports Commissioner's Office.