Yakeb come to the aid of four former athletes
KUALA LUMPUR: Ishak Alwi, the brother of cycling ace Rosman Alwi, quit sports in a huff following a disappointment with the Malaysian National Cycling Federation (MNCF) in 1991.
But yesterday, Ishak had the National Athletes Welfare Foundation (Yakeb) to thank for coming to his assistance just when he was going through a rough patch in his life.
Ishak was among four former athletes who were given assistance by Yakeb yesterday. The 52-year-old former national cyclist, who lost his right leg due to diabetes last August, received a prosthetic leg while former national walker Sharulhaizy Abdul Rahman received aid for his four schoolgoing children.
Former Para Asean Games gold medallist Faridul Masri, who is now suffering from kidney failure, also received diapers while former cyclist Jusof Udin was given financial aid for his dialysis treatments.
Ishak, who has five children, expressed his gratitude to Yakeb for lending a helping hand.
He is currently confined to a wheelchair and supplements the family income by selling nasi lemak.
“Two of my children are still schooling and life is not easy, so it’s nice to be appreciated.
“I want to thank Yakeb and the National Sports Council (NSC) for helping even though I am no longer involved in sports,” said Ishak, who represented the country at the SEA Games in Indonesia and the Asian Cycling Championships in South Korea in 1984.
Asked whether he is willing to take up a coaching course offered by NSC to reconnect with the cycling fraternity, Ishak said he does not think so.
“I have left sports a long time ago. I decided I would have nothing to do with cycling again after I was not picked for the Manila SEA Games (in 1991). I was the number two ranked cyclist at that time behind Rosman.
“My father (Alwi Ahmad) was coaching us at that time and they do not want it to be a family thing. There have always been a lot of politicking in sports from those days,” he recalled.