Paris Olympics: OCM opts for fiercer-looking tiger stripes - Norza

KUALA LUMPUR - The Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) has selected a new design featuring fiercer-looking tiger stripes on the official attire of the national contingent for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

OCM president Tan Sri Mohamad Norza Zakaria said in a statement today that the change was made following mixed feedback on the previous tiger motif design, which was seen as not striking enough.

Norza said the new design features a black background with more prominent and larger yellow tiger stripes on the front and back of the jacket.

He said the OCM logo now features a fluttering Jalur Gemilang with the national flag colours accompanied by the five Olympic rings, replacing the gold-coloured OCM logo from the previous design.

"OCM believes that this new design symbolises the Tiger spirit, which has become the identity of the Malaysian contingent since it was first introduced at the Southeast Asian Games or SEA Games in Manila in 2005.

"It is the hope of OCM, representing stakeholders including the Ministry of Youth and Sports (KBS), the National Sports Council (NSC) and the National Sports Institute (NSI), that the Tiger spirit will inspire the national athletes to roar in the city of Paris," he said.

Norza said that as the governing body managing the Malaysian contingent at all international multi-sport events, he hopes that the brighter design and motif will not only highlight the identity and uniformity of the contingent but more importantly symbolise the prowess, agility and courage to fight for the nation.

Meanwhile, for the design of the gold colour collared T-shirt, he said OCM retains the same design and motif but with the OCM logo in the Jalur Gemilang colours as a mark of respect for the national flag.

He said the official attire sponsor, Yonex Sunrise Malaysia, has given special permission to the governing body to print and produce the jackets with different manufacturer fabrics due to time constraints.

"Due to time constraints, OCM has obtained permission from the sponsor Yonex Sunrise Malaysia to not display the Yonex or YY logo on both the jackets and T-shirts.

"This is because the process for Yonex Sunrise Malaysia to print and prepare this official attire requires an agreement process with the manufacturer as part of the standard operating procedure of the brand," he said.

The OCM president also expressed his utmost gratitude to Yonex Sunrise Malaysia, which has been the official attire sponsor for the Malaysian contingent for the past 10 years, especially for their willingness to allow the production of new official attire using different fabrics and designs.

He said the 26 athletes representing the country must display a high and resilient fighting spirit in line with the highlighted characteristics and tiger stripe motif.

OCM also appreciates Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh for respecting the governing body's position as the umbrella body for National Sports Associations, which is independent and recognised by the International Olympic Committee as the National Olympic Committee since 1954.

He hopes that with this decision, all Malaysians will extend their unwavering support to all members of the Malaysian contingent to the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, which will be held from July 26 to Aug 11. - BERNAMA