Speeches

Singapore is committed in global fight against doping

Sectors

Sports

11 February 2015

Speech by Mr Sam Tan, Minister of State for Culture, Community and Youth, at the Anti-Doping Intelligence and Investigation Seminar 2015

Dr Patrick Goh, Chairman Southeast Asia Regional Anti-Doping Office (SEA RADO) Board;

Board Members of SEA RADO;

Friends from the World Anti Doping Agency, Institute of National Anti-Doping Organisations

Ladies and Gentlemen

Effect of doping on power of sport

Nelson Mandela once said, “Sport has the power to change the world…it has the power to inspire”. Indeed, many of us would have been inspired by sporting legends when we were young, and wanted to be like them when we grow up. That is the power of sport.
Unfortunately, every now and then, we hear about athletes who engage in doping. These instances undermine the power of sport, and the hard work of the athletes. For instance, many may remember the 1988 Seoul Olympics more for the Ben Johnson doping scandal, than for the achievements of the rest of the clean athletes. Doping gives rise to doubts in people about the spirit of sport. If this perpetuates, sport will start to lose its shine, and its power to inspire.

The impact of doping is not just in the world of elite sports. It affects the community in many ways. I would like to highlight two.
a) First, athletes who dope set a very bad example. Athletes are supposed to be role models for young people. If more athletes use performance enhancement drugs or PEDs, our young people will start to believe that using drugs is an easy way to achieve success. That's a wrong message to send. We need to send a very strong and clear message, especially to our youths, that doping is wrong. Otherwise such drugs could find their way to national and even school level competitions.
b) Second, doping may spread beyond the elite sporting community, with potentially dire consequences. It used to be mainly elite athletes who dope. But the situation is changing. Recent observations show that PEDs have found their way to the wider sporting community. It is therefore worrying to read reports of rising PED usage among amateur athletes, even casual gym users. This could be due to the easy availability of such drugs through the Internet or the black market. Drugs from dubious sources are known to contain harmful impurities, which can lead to major health issues or even death. It is therefore critical that everyone is well-informed about the harmful consequences of using performance enhancement drugs.

Singapore will continue to support and align itself with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) in its global fight against doping abuse. For example, in line with WADA's newly-revised World Anti-Doping Code 2015 and recommendation to strengthen investigation and intelligence-gathering capabilities to counter the spread of PED usage, we are forging close partnerships between Anti-doping Singapore and the border control and health regulatory agencies, such as the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) and Health Sciences Authority (HSA). Such multi-agency collaborations will go a long way in complementing the efforts of our national anti-doping organisation to combat sports doping in Singapore.
I would like to express my appreciation to our friends from overseas, especially the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority and UK Anti-Doping, for travelling all the way here to share their invaluable expertise and wisdom with us. It is through the mutual sharing of one another's experiences that we can gain learning points and insights that will help us strengthen our anti-doping capabilities.

This year, Singapore celebrates our 50th year of independence. It is also a major sporting year, as we prepare to host the region's premier sporting events, the SEA Games and ASEAN Para Games. These will be prime opportunities to show how the sporting spirit can be truly celebrated and inspiring. We are working closely with our partners, towards having doping-free Games. Beyond the Games, Singapore will seek to preserve a doping-free legacy for sports and the community. We welcome you to join us for the SEA Games in June and the ASEAN Para Games in December this year.
Finally, it leaves me to wish you all a very fruitful and engaging seminar, and to our visitors, an enjoyable time in Singapore. Have a great day ahead!