KUALA LUMPUR — The recent controversy over a delayed incentive payment to Paralympic gold medallist Cheah Liek Hou has sparked debate on how Malaysia’s top badminton players are treated, casting a spotlight on the sport’s complex remuneration system.

Cheah publicly criticised the Malaysian Paralympic Council (MPC), saying it had failed to honour its pledge to pay a RM60,000 reward to gold medallists of the 2024 Paris Paralympics.

He and powerlifter Bonnie Bunyau Gustin were the only Malaysians to win gold at the tournament.

The council defended itself, saying the incentive could not be paid because one of its sponsors had pulled out

The row then escalated into a messy debate over responsibility for athletes’ rewards. To clarify the matter, Malay Mail spoke to officials from the National Sports Council (NSC) for a breakdown of how Malaysia’s elite badminton players are compensated and by whom.

First, there are two categories of national players under which all of Malaysia’s elite badminton players fall — full-time players managed by BAM, and independent professionals.