Ramlan urges athletes to say no to Enhanced Games

The Star

14-06-2025

PETALING JAYA: Former National Sports Council (NSC) director-general and Anti-doping Agency of Malaysia (Adamas) head Datuk Dr Ramlan Aziz has urged all the relevant authorities to strongly denounce the Enhanced Games and take proactive steps to prevent local athletes from getting involved in it.
Ramlan said the Games, touted by its organisers as a sporting competition that embraces the use of performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs, was a blatant affront to sporting values, national ethics, and athlete welfare.
"When I first heard about the games and how it encourages the use of PEDs, my immediate reaction was one of disbelief," said Dr Ramlan, who led Malaysia's anti-doping movement between 2017 and 2020.
"It is completely against the ethos of sports. We created anti-doping guidelines for a reason - to protect the integrity of competition and safeguard the health of athletes. What the Enhanced Games is proposing is cheating, plain and simple. It is immoral."
Dr Ramlan said the organisers' notion of pushing the human body to its limits by allowing banned substances not only threatens the credibility of sports but sets a dangerous precedent, especially for young and impressionable athletes.
"Their goal is to explore how far the body can go with enhancements but at what cost? It is not just a violation of sporting codes, it's a direct threat to the health of those involved. We must never normalise this."
He also pointed out that the Enhanced Games holds no legitimacy in the eyes of the global sporting community.
"It's not part of the official sporting calendar, it has no formally recognised athletes or testing protocols. Anybody could take part and that makes it impossible to police. It's not even a clinical or regulated act within any nation's sporting framework."
Dr Ramlan, who was instrumental in anti-doping education in Malaysia, recalled how Adamas conducted extensive outreach during the Malaysia Games, educating young athletes on the dangers of doping and the ethical responsibilities of elite sport.
"If any of our athletes under national programmes are thinking of participating in such a competition, they're foolish to do so. Years of anti-doping work and preparation will go to waste."
He acknowledged, however, that recreational athletes and the general public remain a vulnerable group.
"For people outside our structured sporting ecosystem, like gym-goers, it's harder to reach them. But when something like the Enhanced Games comes up, it becomes even more crucial that the message is clear doping is a danger to your health. Stimulants are a no-go.
"If we want to fight this, the best solution is to ensure no one competes in it. It must be a joint effort across government bodies, sports organisations and the wider community."