DRUGS IN SPORT: Don't plead for athletes if they have committed crimes

01 January 2013 | last updated at 10:57PM

After going through the write-up by this ex-athlete as well as the report on the charge ("Ex-Olympian hurdler charged with drug possession", NST, Dec 20), I strongly feel that the writer is under the impression that an offence under Schedule I of the Drugs List does not deserve a punishment under the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952.

As an ex-athlete and a coach to a group of youngsters, one should be aware of the consequences of being caught with drugs.

The World Anti-Doping Agency upheld former national athletics coach Harun Rasheed's lifetime ban for telling six national sprinters to skip dope tests last year, and now we have this case involving a National Sports Council coach.

With the admittance of possession, I wonder what made the writer ask for reprieve. Having known Ishtiaq for a long time, I am sorry that he admitted to such an offence, fully aware of the Dangerous Drugs Act.

In a previous case, it was reported that a senior official had instructed the athlete and a coach in regard to drug abuse.

But now, with this latest incident, does the offender's possession and confession need to be considered as "unawareness", or can even all the glorious performances of his past be used to reduce the punishment?

The writer must be honest and put some thought to the current position this "friend" of his holds in the development of young athletes in the NSC-Pelapis programme. As an ex-athlete and an armchair critic of the Malaysian Athletics Union and its administration, the writer must be sensible enough to weigh the seriousness of the crime.

Past achievements don't carry weight when it comes to drug offences under Malaysian law. I agree with the common statement of judges in court that, "if you follow or are caught with a thief, then you are also an accomplice or a thief".

So, though the substance was not an enhancement-oriented one, the person in full possession of it was sure of his act and must be punished for the offence.

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DRUGS IN SPORT: Don't plead for athletes if they have committed crimes