Terengganu Exco Shocked by Muslim Female Divers Participation at Sukma Due to Attire Ban, Hannah Yeoh Retorts

On 25 August, Hishamuddin Abdul Karim, Terengganu youth and sports executive councilor, said he was shocked by reports that two Muslim girls had represented the state in diving at the recent Sukma Games. He elaborated that no female Muslims can represent Terengganu in diving, given that the attire does not meet the state’s dress code for Muslim athletes, according to their sports council.

Hishamuddin, who is from PAS, said he was unaware that two female divers had taken part in Sukma to represent Terengganu. He added that the Terengganu Amateur Swimming Association had paid the costs. According to him, a representative from the association had paid him a visit to request clearance to send the divers to Sukma as part of Terengganu’s quota.

Image Credit: Hishamuddin Abdul Karim | Instagram

As reported by FMT, he said, “At the time, I stressed that the state government will not allow it since it is in breach of our guidelines, even if the athlete is a Muslim but is not originally from Terengganu.”

Hannah Yeoh speaks out

Hannah Yeoh, the Youth and Sports Minister, said the state government's directive could impact sports development in the country and that the ban was concerning. According to Yeoh, the two divers, Uzlifatil Jannah Ashraf and Ilyssa Ixora Imran, will now be placed under the Malaysian Sports School programme under Putrajaya's purview. During the Sukma Games, Uzlifatil won two bronze medals, and Ilyssa won one bronze medal.

In a Facebook post, she wrote, “The Ministry of Youth and Sports hopes that the state of Terengganu does not discriminate against the giving of medal incentives to the two divers as they have contributed medals to Terengganu’s State Contingent. Every athlete that represents their state at Sukma has to go through a registration process that has been approved by the state sports council.”

She went on to write, “The Ministry is concerned with the direction of the state to ban the participation of female athletes in certain sports as this will hamper the potential of many young athletes who have proven to have talent. This will also negatively impact the development of the country’s sporting field overall.”

In 2019, Terengganu made it a requirement for state athletes to wear shariah-compliant clothing, both in their home state and while participating in outstation events. It banned women from taking part in gymnastic events because of non-shariah-compliant outfits. This caused several Muslim female gymnasts from Terengganu to retire from the sport.

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Featured Image Credit: facebook.com/hannahyeoh, Astro Awani