PETALING JAYA: The travel expenses incurred by a privately funded national karate team for their trip to France for an international competition have been settled, FMT reports.
All thanks to Better Malaysia Foundation (BMF) chairman Tan Sri Vincent Tan, who presented the team with a cheque for RM20,000 to settle their debt with a local travel agency which had allowed them to “travel first, pay later”.
Yesterday, Tan hosted a dinner for the team that won nine medals, including a gold, at the French Karate International Open recently.
“We are indeed grateful to Berjaya Corporation founder Tan Sri Vincent Tan for this gesture,” the spokesman for the private team, Thivashini Krish Dhev Nair reportedly said yesterday.
She said Tan also gave them some great advice that made them feel proud of their achievement.
“This will spur our highly motivated team to do better and bring more honours to Malaysia in the international sports arena,“ she said.
Tan came to the aid of the cash-strapped team after reading about its success and the debt it had incurred in making the trip, following a FMT report.
The contribution is from his personal charity organisation, Better Malaysia Foundation (BMF).
At the French Karate International Open on May 8, the nine members of the team, from the International Okinawan Shorin-Ryu Sei-bu-kan Karate Do Association of Malaysia, brought home a medal each, including what is believed to be the country’s first gold in a global karate meet.
It was earlier reported that sponsors rejected the team dubbed as “Karate Kids” because it is not affiliated with the Malaysian Karate Federation, which is the governing body of the sport in Malaysia.
