Previously, Syed Saddiq announced that he’d be taking on the challenge of running 200km from Muar to the Parliament in Kuala Lumpur as a way to raise funds for community service centres in his constituency and protest the lack of funding for opposition lawmakers. The politician has also been very active in participating in multiple sports events.
Being the fit young man that he is, taking on these challenging outdoor activities should be no problem for him but unfortunately, a participant at one of these triathlons was not satisfied with him. According to several reports, the public figure was accused of cheating after he took 3rd place in the event. Here’s what happened:
A particular individual, who participated in the 113 Triathlon Desaru 2024, reportedly claimed that Syed Saddiq was suddenly ahead of him during the foot race despite the MP (Member of Parliament) being behind them during the swimming and bike race not too long ago. “I didn’t even notice you overtaking me in the bike race but suddenly you were already ahead of me in the foot race. How is that possible?” the participant said.
Taking to social media, Syed Saddiq explained what really happened from his side. In the video he posted, the 31-year-old admitted that there was an error on his part during the event and apologised to those affected, saying he completed the required three laps of the bike course but his mistake was that he did his first lap as part of the 40km specified for the Olympic race category.
He suspected something was amiss at the time and notified the technical team but was told that there was no problem and he carried on as usual. The politician also denied allegations made by the accuser who claimed that he only did two loops in the bike race instead of three. Throughout the explanation, Syed Saddiq showcased the data received from the event organiser which he cross-referenced with his smartwatch to prove that this was an honest mistake.
“Despite double-checking the problem during the race and notifying the technical team, as a participant, I should have been more responsible. I unreservedly apologise to the triathlon community,” he said. Due to this error, the former Youth and Sports Minister discussed with the organiser and agreed that his status to be changed to DNF (Did Not Finish).
Watch the full video below:
Sources: Instagram, MalaysiaKini, Beautifulnara
