Marathon pacer undergoes high-risk surgery

SUNGAI BULOH: Marathon pacer Evelyn Ang (pix) has successfully undergone high-risk surgery at Sungai Buloh Hospital and is under close observation for the next 72 hours.
A spokesman close to the family, Ana Fauzi, said the almost four-hour surgery "went well" on Sunday night.
"Evelyn is in the Intensive Care Unit now. Doctors are monitoring her and we are all hoping that she recovers without any complications as this is a high-risk surgery," she told theSun.
Ana hoped people would pray for Evelyn's complete recovery.
"We would also like to urge all the runners, who were behind Evelyn and the other two runners, to come forward to give statements to the police."
Ang, 44, was among three people hit by a car around 4.30am on Sunday along Jalan Kapar Batu 2 during a pace routine.
She suffered serious head injuries, including a skull fracture.
The other two victims — Amiruddin Hamid, 37, and Ahmad Hadafi Jus, 42, — sustained light injuries.
The 27-year-old car driver allegedly lost control of his vehicle and rammed into the runners from behind.
The police had confirmed that he was not driving while intoxicated as he tested negative in a urine test.
Meanwhile, Sports Commissioner Datuk Zaiton Othman said the organiser of the Klang International City Marathon, Earth Runners International Group Sdn Bhd, did not apply for a permit to hold the run.
"We regret this deeply because the organisation of any event should get the approval of the Sports Commissioner as stated in the Sports Development Act 1997 (SDA), as well as approvals from the relevant bodies of that sport, police and local councils," Zaiton said.
Approval from the Sports Commissioner's Office (SCO) is needed to ensure the financial and technical ability of the organisers and that local and international rules are followed, she said.
Zaiton said today that large-scale sports events require the approval of the SDA which is in charge of regulating the event in ensuring safety measures are in place for participants.
"It has become a commercial venture for some private companies to organise such races. Some are RM2 companies. They collect the fees of between a few tens to hundreds of ringgit from each participant and carry out the event as they wish without approval from the SCO. There have been cases where events did not take place and runners were left in the lurch. We have come across many such cases and had also lodged police reports against the organisers."
Zaiton said some organisers are of the erroneous opinion that the events need not be governed by the SCO and that they are not required to seek approval.
"We will discuss this with the Youth and Sports Ministry and propose amendments to the laws to ensure tighter regulations in the organising of sports events."
Meanwhile, netizens took to social media to wish Ang a speedy recovery today.
"Sending positive healing thoughts for her recovery," wrote Peggy Hui in Facebook.
Netizens also took the opportunity to reiterate their speedy recovery wish, with hashtags #prayforevelyn, #speedyrecovery and #officialpacerinjured found aplenty around social media.
"Marathoner hit by car still in critical condition #prayforEvelyn. Stay strong, girl & keep on fighting," typed Mimi Yuslinda Yusof‏ @JambuJingga.