Let Chong Wei rest, says Syed Saddiq.
The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission has denied freezing badminton ace Lee Chong Wei’s bank account due to links to the 1Malaysia Development Bhd scandal.
MACC deputy chief commissioner (operations) Azam Baki confirmed the matter when contacted by Bernama.
“It’s not true at all.”
Earlier, Youth and Sports Minister Syed Saddiq Abdul Rahman denied the allegation regarding Lee’s bank account.
He said the shuttler’s withdrawal from the World Championships in China and Asian Games in Indonesia is due to ill health, and has nothing to do with 1MDB.
He also urged Malaysians, especially badminton and media enthusiasts, to give space to Chong Wei to undergo a peaceful recovery process.
He said that as an athlete who had served the nation well, Chong Wei deserved a personal space, especially during the treatment and rehabilitation process of his current health problems.
“Last week, I had the opportunity to go to his home where he had expressed his compulsion to withdraw from the Asian Games and World Championships due to respiratory problems.
“I hope that sports lovers and the media can give him space to fully recover. He is our hero, he is our athlete and we need to help as best as we can,” Syed Saddiq told reporters.
Syed Saddiq reiterated that rumours linking Chong Wei to the 1MDB fund as the cause of his withdrawal from the Asian Games in Jakarta and the World Championship in Nanjing, China were slanderous and untrue.
“It’s defamation and fraud. And that insults our national hero. Political differences are common but we cannot forget his deeds which have enhanced the name of our country,” he said.
In an interview with NST, the Muar MP dismissed that the accounts of the badminton champion were frozen after being linked with the 1MDB fund.
It is understood that the national champion is currently undergoing further treatment in Taiwan.
Earlier report: Jul 30, Chong Wei in Taiwan for Treatment of Career-Threatening Illness