The government allocates RM1.1 million in SHAKAM rewards to Malaysian athletes who won medals at the Glasgow Games.
THE government has channelled an allocation of RM1.1 million under the National Sports Incentive Scheme (SHAKAM) as a reward for Malaysian athletes who won medals at the 2026 Glasgow Commonwealth Games.
Youth and Sports Minister Dr. Mohammed Taufiq Johari said the total amount serves as a form of appreciation for the sacrifices and pride gifted by the athletes to all Malaysians. The incentive for gold medallists has been set at RM80,000, with an additional RM10,000 if an athlete breaks the games record.
“…followed by RM40,000 for silver and RM20,000 for bronze,” he said during the welcoming ceremony for the country’s Glasgow 2026 heroes and heroines at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) today.
Elaborating further on the SHAKAM rewards, he informed that the National Sports Council (NSC) is currently discussing increasing the monetary amount through additional funds from the corporate sector.
Meanwhile, Dr. Mohammed Taufiq said the success of bringing home eight gold, three silver and five bronze medals is the result of a shift in the ministry’s strategy, which now sets medal targets based on specific colours. He emphasised that setting colour-based medal targets instils a new spirit for athletes to chase gold medals and serves as an initial step for the country to achieve its first-ever Olympic gold medal in the future.
“This bold move ultimately bore fruit for us all. Although we were initially a bit apprehensive that setting colour-based targets would put pressure on the athletes, it actually provided a fresh morale boost. InsyaAllah, in future games, we will continue setting targets based on colour, specifically gold,” he said.
The decision was made following deep discussions and studies involving sports associations, coaches, and athletes to ensure the goal of securing gold medals could be specifically focused on. The achievement in Glasgow is recorded as one of the country’s best performances since 2010, with the national contingent surpassing its initial target of five gold medals. Despite sending a relatively small contingent compared to previous editions, he described the victory as carrying immense meaning for all Malaysians.
