MALAYSIA BANS ISRAELI ATHLETES FROM INT'L SAILING MEET

Israeli windsurfers athlete Yoav Omer. (Photo: Amit Shisel/ISA)

Kuala Lumpur, 16 Rabi’ul Awwal 1437/27 December 2015 (MINA) – Malaysia has sought to defend itself for denying visas to two Israeli windsurfers hoping to compete in an international competition, saying Sunday that they had refused to accept rules governing the use of its flag and anthem.

“The Israel youth team decided not to adhere our instructions, so I had to act based on the policies at hand, and I don’t understand why the Malaysian government is seen in a bad light here,” Malaysia’s Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin told Anadolu Agency on Sunday, quoted by Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA).

“We had to make a decision. Our intention was not to prevent them [Israel] from participating but we had set a few rules for them to adhere, to which they declined to comply.”

The Youth Sailing World Championships began Sunday at Langkawi Island in northern Malaysia, with Yoav Omer and Noy Drihan missing from the over 50 contestants representing countries worldwide.

Omer and Drihan — along with their coach Meir Yaniv — were refused visas 24 hours before their scheduled departure after they were reported to have refused to respond to the host nation’s request that they abstain from using their national flag or symbols on windsurfing outfits.

Malaysia had also said that it would not play the Israeli national anthem if either athlete were to win the gold medal.

It has frequently highlighted what it calls the “intrusion” of Israel into the Palestinian heartland and the “brutal actions” it has taken to conquer Palestine, whose people it says have lived in fear and danger for many decades. (T/P001/R03)

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)