RM1.1mil in SHAKAM rewards for Malaysia's Glasgow heroes

SEPANG – Malaysian athletes who competed at the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games will share RM1.1 million in rewards under the Malaysian Athletes Victory Reward Scheme (SHAKAM), after the contingent surpassed its gold medal target.

Youth and Sports Minister Dr Mohammed Taufiq Johari said the government valued the sacrifices of athletes who brought honour to the country, with each gold medallist receiving RM80,000 plus a RM10,000 bonus for breaking a Games record.

"For SHAKAM, we give based on the medal. For a gold medal, we give RM80,000 and if the athlete breaks the record, we add RM10,000.

"Then silver is RM40,000 and bronze RM20,000," he said while welcoming the contingent home at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) today. (Quote translated from Bahasa Melayu)

He said the RM1.1 million allocation covers all athletes who contributed eight gold, three silver and five bronze medals, adding that the government is studying proposals to raise SHAKAM payouts in future.

"At the MSN level, we are discussing an increase in SHAKAM money. It will certainly require deeper discussion so that we obtain funding not only from the government but also from the corporate sector," he said.

Positive sign ahead of Asian Games

Taufiq described the Glasgow performance as a positive sign ahead of the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games this September, after the approach of setting targets by medal colour delivered the intended impact.

He said the initial target of five golds was not only met but exceeded, with the contingent claiming eight golds despite sending a smaller squad than in previous editions.

"Previously our medal targets were overall, but we made a slight change — targets based on medal colour. Alhamdulillah, we achieved the target and this bold step finally bore fruit for all of us," he said.

He believes the momentum shown in Glasgow must be sustained, as it proves Malaysian athletes are on the right track for bigger challenges at Aichi-Nagoya.