PUTRAJAYA: Malaysian sports moved a step in the right direction with the launch of the Safe Sport Code (SSC) by Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh here today.
SSC is intended to protect the entire sports community, including athletes, officials and even spectators, from any form of harassment or violence that can affect physical or mental health.
It serves as a guideline, defining the various types of offences that can occur in sports and also outlines the roles and responsibilities carried by those involved in sports.
The Sports Development Act 1997 has also been amended, effective March 10, to include SSC. It is now a requirement for all sports related organisations to develop SSC within their respective ecosystems.
A 25 page, passport-sized SSC booklet was distributed to athletes and officials during the launch.
Yeoh said various international Safe Sport standards and definitions were referred to when drafting SSC.
"This is to ensure for consistency, for example, if a Malaysian-trained athlete is involved in a case while competing abroad, the definitions (of offences) are standard and consistent," said Yeoh during a press conference today.
"The most important aspect in SSC is the reporting mechanism.
"We want to help complainants be aware of and also understand who they can report to. Athletes will be given briefings so they are aware of their rights.
"It is also for sports bodies to know how they can deal with such reports.
"Today we saw many sports bodies (31) as well as departments and agencies (17) under the Sports Ministry signing a pledge to implement SSC."
The Sports Ministry have also appointed former Deputy Public Prosecutor Melissa Akhir as the safeguarding officer for SSC. She will serve as a reference point for SSC related matters and will also conduct Safe Sport advocacy programmes.
Only time will tell whether SSC will be sufficient to safeguard Malaysian sports from the sexual misconduct and physical abuse cases that it has been affected by in the past.
Safe Sport Malaysia (SSM), an independent non-profit which promotes the development of the Safe Sport movement, have continued to stress the need for a Safe Sport Act and Safe Sport Centre to be implemented together with SSC.
Yeoh, however, believes the proposed Safe Sport Act could cause confusion.
"We already have laws in place, including the Penal Code, which is why we do not want to have our own Act," added Yeoh.
"If we had our own Act and our own definitions, an athlete could get confused about which Act to refer to. Instead of using our own Act, we will use the main Act which the Police uses to ensure consistency.
"In fact the mother Act, the Anti-Sexual Harassment Act (passed last year), has not been implemented yet. We have to give this Act a chance to run its course.
"Melisa, was also involved in drafting the (Anti-Sexual Harassment) Act. This (her appointment) is to provide continuity and also ensure that everybody that comes into this ecosystem is aware of what the other bodies are doing."
Yeoh disclosed that SSC will be continuously reviewed and could be amended based on feedback from stakeholders in the future.