The year 2015 boasts two important sporting events. The 28th SEA Games in Singapore early next month is followed by the Asean Para Games in December, a biannual multi-sport event for athletes with physical disabilities.
Both regional events feature 11 countries in Southeast Asia. The Para Games, similar to the Paralympic Games, feature athletes with mobility disabilities, visual disabilities, amputees and cerebral palsy.
Both competitions draw talented sportsmen and women vying for top accolades in their respective competitions. They give blood, sweat and tears to not just achieve national pride, but to receive prize money for each medal they bring home.
As they compete against the best in the region, the stakes are, needless to say, high. Athletes come from an array of socio-economic and educational backgrounds. During time in the team camp, they receive a daily stipend equal to the national daily wage. Many put their careers and education on the back-burner to train in the months leading up to the Games.
Judging from the enormous amount of hard work put into each athlete's training regime and the personal sacrifices many make to qualify for the national squad, one would only count it fair that athletes, regardless of which regional event they are competing in, are reimbursed fairly. It is rather unfortunate that this is not the case, and has not been for a long time. The able-bodied athletes at the SEA Games receive much more money per medal than their counterparts at the Para Games.
At the 2013 SEA Games in Myanmar, it was reported that Thai gold medallists received 200,000 baht, silver medallists 100,000 baht and bronze medallists 50,000 baht from the government. While, hold your breath, Para Games podium winners were given the paltry reward of 50,000 baht for gold, 30,000 baht for silver and 10,000 baht for bronze. Unfortunately, no one has gone on record to properly explain this inconsistency, so all the public can do is speculate. Questions raised by the athletes often fall on deaf ears, so the subject is often swept under the carpet.
I once had the opportunity to speak with a high-ranking sports official on this issue, and found his reply rather disturbing. He suggested physically handicapped athletes have to work far less than the able-bodied to win a medal because competition was not as fierce for them. In short, winning a medal at the Para Games was not such a big deal after all. He closed the conversation with: "They should not complain about the wide gap in prize money, and be happy they are getting at least something."
Most physically challenged national athletes I came across during my days at the sports desk came from lower- to middle-class families and had completed vocational training. With little to no sponsorship to fall back on, training for overseas events meant shelling out money from their own pockets to cover training expenses. Prize money was often used as an investment, not just to train for the next event but also to start a small family business, income from which was used when they trained full-time.
It is high time our national sporting bodies wake up to the realisation that these unsung heroes need support and a long-term plan to guarantee that they are looked after when they quit. An uncertain future has caused some to go astray, especially when the going gets tough.
Double gold Para Games winner Wutthipol Sinthong, 30, who recently appeared before the Crime Suppression Division after being arrested on a drug possession charge during a police sting, is one case in point.
Not all wheelchair athletes are born with a physical disability. Many are victims of accidents.
Let's face it, there is no knowing when a healthy person might overnight become disabled. It's about time that we start to treat our physically and mentally challenged fellow citizens with respect and fairness.
Businesses should be more open to accepting a larger number of staff with various forms of disability.
Many jobs can be performed by people with hearing loss, visual impairment or those who use a wheelchair.
Writing, teaching, sales and accounting are a few occupations to consider.
A nation can truly call itself progressive when it treat its citizens as equals.
What better place to start than the regional sporting games?
Yvonne Bohwongprasert is a feature writer with the Life section.