The 2015 Standard Chatered KL Marathon will reverted back to its original date after Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin released a statement through his Facebook page.
Only July 13, Khairy’s Ministry released a statement that the initial date of the marathon would be changed from October 4 to October 10 to make it as part of the national sports day event stirred public backlash.
“The marathon, will lend a big boost to the targeted 3 million participants for the inaugural National Sports Day.” According to the statement released on the Standard Chartered Kuala Lumpur Marathon (SCKLM) Website.
“This means that the iconic race will move from its announced date of Sunday, October 4 to Saturday, October 10 2015.”
Many runners were devastated as many believed that it was merely a political ploy to use one of the most sought-after running event for the national sports day in order to increase the numbers for the national sports day.
However Khairy has since apologized for the confusion and has since released a statement detailing the reasons for rescheduling while also confirmed that the date will be reverted back to its original date.
A statement on his Facebook page read: “Statement on the Standard Chartered KL Marathon.” The Statement began,
“I’ve read all your tweets, Facebook messages and emails regarding the date change of the Standard Chartered KL Marathon 2015. There are a few things I want to clear up.
“The National Sports Day isn’t about achieving KPIs or hijacking events. There are noble intentions in what we were trying to do. We were trying to get as many Malaysians from different ethnicities, religions, age, location and walks of life out there as one to do as many sporting activities as possible on one day.
“The power of sports to unite people can not be underestimated. Sports has that power to show you what your limits are and then pushes you to exceed them.
“Ten months ago, my ministry launched the Fit Malaysia initiative with this in mind. In that short time, we’ve seen great success in bringing people together. We’ve had tens of thousands of people who might ordinarily not exercise come out to join us in our fitness activities.”
“The National Sports Day is not a political event with a political agenda, like how Teachers Day or Cancer Awareness Month are not. It was to be our step towards becoming a sporting nation and to make sports and fitness part of a Malaysian culture, identity and lifestyle. We are a sports-loving nation but we are nowhere near being a sporting nation.
“We have jointly come to the conclusion that the Standard Chartered KL Marathon will be reverted back to October 4, considering the many issues that have been raised.
“On behalf of the ministry, Standard Chartered, Dirigo and DBKL, I apologise for the inconvenience caused by the earlier change in date and I hope that you all will still come forward to support the National Sports Day.”
You can read the full statement here: https://www.facebook.com/Khairykj/posts/1153641147985818
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