Guest Writers, Main Stories, Top Story - Written on Thursday, September 18, 2008 18:00 - 26 Comments
Recognise and reward paralympians fairly
Dharmendra Yadav / Guest Writer
This week, a disabled athlete ensured that the national anthem of Singapore was heard for the first time at the Paralympic Games, held in Beijing. The Paralympic Games shares the same international status as the Olympic Games.
Yip Pin Xiu, since Monday, is the first Singapore athlete to win gold at the games when she came in first in a swimming event.
The newspaper, Today, dubbed her “Singapore’s Golden Girl” and noted that her victory at the “comes a month to the day after the Singapore women’s table tennis team bagged the country’s first Olympic medal in 48 years, when they beat South Korea in the semi-finals in Beijing”.
And how will the country celebrate Pin Xiu’s contribution to the glory of her motherland?
For some two decades now, schemes have been put in place to reward such athletes for their achievements at such international sports gatherings.
The Singapore National Olympic Council, under the then oversight of one of Singapore’s political legends from the ruling party, Dr Yeo Ning Hong, implemented the Multi-Million Dollar Awards Programme (MAP).
Between $1 million to $2 million is now awarded to an individual or team that secures a gold medal at the Olympic Games. Athletes are rewarded up to a maximum of the first gold medal won at the Olympic Games. Significantly, MAP is for athletes with no disabilities.
For disabled athletes, the Athletes’ Achievement Awards (AAA) applies. This was created in 2006 based on a framework similar to MAP.
Both MAP and AAA are primarily supported by the Singapore Totalisator Board or the Tote Board, which uses surpluses from its gaming activities to fund these initiatives.
However, there are some key differences between the AAA and MAP schemes.
Firstly, between $100,000 to $200,000 is now awarded to an individual or team that secures a gold medal at the Paralympic Games.
Secondly, the incentive is given “based on a single highest achievement”. No additional awards are given for multiple medals but there is provision in MAP for additional awards to be given for multiple medals won at the Asian, Commonwealth and SEA Games.
As a paralympian, Yip will receive $100,000 under the AAA, about one-tenth of what she could have received as an olympian. Had she been an athlete with no disability, she would have been awarded $1,000,000.
Contrast this figure also with the $750,000 that our China-born athletes, who are now Singaporeans and won the silver medal at the Olympic Games, will receive.
The rationale for the divergence in the amounts does not appear clear.
One reason could be the visibility that the Paralympic Games enjoys in comparison to the Olympic Games. Both MAP and AAA are heavily reliant on corporate support. As a result of the greater brand recognition enjoyed by the Olympic Games, corporate sponsors may be more inclined to support the MAP.
Another reason could be that the AAA could do with a fund-raiser like Dr Yeo Ning Hong who, as a result of his clout and extensive contributions both in the public and private sectors, was able to roll out an ambitious programme such as the MAP.
Ideally, there should be little or no divergence in the manner in which we celebrate our olympians and paralympians.
Yip suffers from muscular dystrophy, which impedes her ability to straighten her hands. She is also suffering from worsening vision. These extreme medical conditions did not stop her from giving Singaporeans a compelling reason to be proud about. In the years ahead, she will need much more financially for her medical conditions than an abled athlete. Looking at her needs and merits, there is justification for Yip to receive an award as high as an olympian.
As much as there is nothing illegal about this practice of rewarding abled and disabled athletes differently, there is some basis for one to argue that it is unfair.
Perhaps, a way forward is to merge both the MAP and the AAA so that disabled and abled athletes are incentivised equally for their contributions to Singapore.
In making its bid for the Youth Olympics 2010, Singapore represented that “worldwide, our country is recognized for its honesty, integrity and commitment to fair play”.
Surely, the principle of fair play requires that the achievements of our disabled athletes for the glory of this country be recognised and rewarded as highly as the contributions of our abled athletes.
*The writer is training to be a lawyer. He blogs at: www.thinkhappiness.blogspot.com
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26 Comments
medals or no medal will still not help Singapore with the problem of USA sub prime woes.
Get really to embrace more hard time ahead !! Bite bullets again? Jobs lost or wage cut?
High time we should distinguish between NEEDS & WANTS !!
Unfortunately ..she’s Singaporean…need i say more
I wrote something about it as well on my blog. My sister wasn’t even aware someone won gold, or that anyone won anything due to the lack of media publicity. Why such a disparity? Unfortunately, this bias exists not just in our country but others as well.
Yip Pin Xiu is born a Singaporean and lives, speaks, thinks like a Singaporean.
This is why I am proud of her and she makes me proud to be Singaporean.
To be a true Singaporean takes time. A lot of time.
Not 1 day or 1 year.
I urge the authorities award her a much bigger and reasonable amount for the sacrifice she made for herself and her country. Glory like this is difficult to achieve.
Rewards for sports achievements that bring glory to the nation should be equal, regardless of race, language or religion and I shall add, with or without disabilities.
Being a handicapped and yet achieve so much more than many able bodied individuals.
She put me to shame.
To evladrieng (comment #4)
Maybe your sister wasn’t reading the newspapers or watching the news lah… This time round the media were actually providing quite a lot of coverage. TNP, Zaobao both featured the news prominently on their front page. Only Straits Times gave a small headline, their reason being that the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy news bumped the story off the front page
Yes, the whole issue lies in the fact that Olympics is a more commercially viable venture than the Paralympics.
To bridge the gap, for a start, the govt should recognise both of the events on equal par.
However, it would be better , though external to our control, that the Olympic and Paralympic be held together. That way, the reach would be the same audience. It could be implemented by having the Olympics heats first followed by the Paralympics heats within the same venue at the same duration. Usually Paralympics is conducted after the Olympics is over, which means all of the audience have gone home and telecast is gone too.
Dear Yip Pin Xiu,
Your are not only a true blue and gutsy Singaporean achieving against tremendous odds – you are also the rare gem of a persona who serendipitously wakes up a nation’s conscience by your real efforts.
CONGRATULATIONS.
Firstly I am happy by the fact that the disadvantaged is given the opportunity to excel in what they set out to do and to do it well against the odds stack against them. That itself should be the main motivation.
By winning medals at this level only serves a reminder how far the athletes themselves have benefitted from the various programmes and opportunities given to them which otherwise is not available like in many countries. Yes we can all go on with the fairness debate but lets put in this way, in all societies there will definitely be a disparity in rewards and benefits etc. Maybe we can do better but I too feel the beneficiaries themselves should feel contented right now given the disadvantages they have due to no fault of anyone.
Yes we can continue to bridge the gap of rewards for different genders, abilities, qualifications etc but then the important virtue to include in is learning how to be contented with our lot.
Greed has brought us to this present crisis as it all started with allowing future monies (credit) to be used for the present. This irresponsible act does not only bankrupt loads of people and huge institutions and countries as well. By us humans wanting more can bring benefits to the economies but for how long. As we all know, resources are becoming scarce.
On a larger picture, with the financial crisis that will inadvertably affect us should be foremost on our minds instead of focusing on just a few victories and individuals. It is nice to see Tan Kin Lian’s article on his views etc. Being an ex-CEO he is well informed of such matters. The main concern really is how much has been kept from us from the relevent authorities. I remembered not too long ago, a certain bigshot from across the globe mentioned there is no cause for alarm as the situation is under control. Now we all know the truth…..
And, unlike, the China-born ping-pong girls, she sang Majulah Singapura as the flag was being raised.
The Singapore Daily » Blog Archive » Daily SG: 19 Sep 2008
[...] do Singapore proud – TOC: Recognise and reward paralympians fairly – edroos: credit where credit is [...]
Please sign and make your views heard on the above petition. Singaporeans need to be heard to make a change
I have two children – one very smart and is getting top 10 in school & another very slow (doctors think that he is a slow developer or low IQ) and is among bottom 10% in school. i reward both of them the same for putting in their best. my smart child is not happy at times about this because she has to study harder to stay at the top. my slower child needs more attention, coaching and encouragement from me to do his study. Ultimately, they know that they are my children (different gifts different strokes). And as their parent, i love them both dearly (and i show it daily with my actions). I think that is enough. They do not need school or government etc to reward them for their efforts before they feel good about their achievements.
“The Paralympic Games shares the same international status as the Olympic Games.”
Er really? How many people actually follow the Paralympic games with the same intensity as they do the Summer Olympic games?
It’s only in name that they are equal, so we should stop making hypocritical comments like this.
Do YOU follow the Paralympics? Or did you only read the news after Singapore won some medals?
Since there’s lower interest and prestige in Paralympics, then it’s only natural that the rewards are less. Mind you, $100k is nothing to be sniffed at.
I do feel that their achievements are worth celebrating, just not to the extent of giving her $1 million.
Anyway it’s so funny how people drag in unrelated issues like human greed and foreign “talent”. Don’t cloud the issue!
Face it. The Paralympics will never be taken as seriously as the real McCoy.
To use a footballing analogy, would you expect the prize money for winning the Carling Cup to be more than the payout for winning the Champion’s League? Didn’t think so.
It may not be correct in a moral or logical sense, but that’s just the way it is. Put bluntly, the Paralympics is no more than an afterthought to the Olympics.
Don’t get me wrong, I support our Paralympians as much as or even more than our ‘real’ Olympic contingent.
I stayed glued to watch TV Singapore news about Yip and Team Singapore’s Victory Parade Procession and the makan kechil at the Istana yeasterday but there was really none. Maybe I was in the Gents then but certainly one or two repeats should appear on later news program.
We get overdose of other news repeated on CNA like hell. Why not News on Singapore get the same treatment.
Yip should get more than $100,000 plus $50,000 for her Silver. Make it 50% of the Olympic Award. Yip and Tan needs money to live medically.
Bayah lah Buaya
I am very proud of her. How many will ever think that a disable will win us a GOLD? She did us proud and a true singaporean. She overcome her diability to fly our flag high. Yet only receive $100000 is really an insult to her while foreign imports get $750000 for a silver. While in Beijing, a taxi driver said whether we can feel proud of our country’ s only silver, i said no. He later said that our country’s leader really loves to use MONEY to solve problems. He said that our country leaders really doesn’t understand what national pride is. I felt truy bad.
http://sunchair.blogspot.com/2008/09/olympians-and-paralympians-will-never.html
Why I think they will never get the same recognition as normal Olympians, and Why its okay.
I have signed the petition for show of solidarity but many ipetitions have fallen on deaf ears as always.
When will our leaders care to sit up and listen???
I applaud our Yip Pin Xiu and Laurentia Tan. They are true blue sinkies. Not only do they speak like us, they sing the National Anthem like us.
I felt hollow when our table tennis paddlers won – weren’t the whole team from China?
However, I feel proud that Singapore finally made it!
Thank you, Singapore girls!
Olympians and Paralympians will never be the same, but they really don’t need our sympathy. They have already achieved something greater than what most of us are capable of in our lifetime, and they are probably very content.
Perhaps they are already content. We’re only making a fool of ourselves. :)
Ability or Disability-We want EQUITY!
In response to 23) critic on September 22nd, 2008 12.18 am
“Perhaps they are already content. We’re only making a fool of ourselves.”
We will certainly be fools if we allow such inequity in our society!
Please read the Letter from Leo Chen Ian, President of Disabled People’s Association(DPA), printed on TODAY dated 22 Sep | Voice Page 22 and hear the voices of our disabled community.
“….as DPA champions the equalisation and the inclusion of people with disabilities in society, we hope that the Athletes Achievement Awards given to Singapore Paralympians will soon equal to Multi-Million dollar Award Programme granted to able-bodied Olympians. An equal incentive for Paralympians will give them the recognition as equals with the rest of society – something they have aspired to and worked hard for.”
我们是新加坡公民，誓愿不分种族、言语、宗教，团结一致，建设公正
[平等]
的民主社会，并为实现国家之幸福、繁荣与进步，共同努力。
平等?
Why the oversea born chinese sportsman/woman get more. Well, they are from china, here for money. If you don’t paid them well. “Gone in sixty seconds” world record
You should read my post on why the awards are different. This has to do with the reason for the awards in the first place. You think government really interested in promoting sports ? Haha…
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Uncategorized - Jan 15, 2010 10:12 - 126 Comments
It is affordable – Mah Bow Tan
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Uncategorized - Jan 15, 2010 10:12 - 126 Comments
It is affordable – Mah Bow Tan
More In Uncategorized
- Rebutting Law Minister K Shanmugam
- Challenge of communication
- TOC & Talk Politics hold successful Year in Review forum
- “Live” from Post Museum – TOC’s Year End Review
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Yip Pin Xiu makes me proud to be singaporean. born with extreme disadvantages, against all odds at every avenue, and defiantly striving for her dreams until she gets her gold which she rightly deserves.
go for gold. we are proud of you and will be behind you no matter come what may!