In a groundbreaking book called People of the Lie, The Hope For Healing Human Evil, M Scott Peck, MD came out with a clinical classic in the study of human evil.
Peck draws a profile of the evil: they have no regard for the truth; they lie and live in a world of lies. They are masters of disguise and cloak themselves with masks of respectability, goodness and often piety. But it is the appearance of propriety and respectability that is the important factor. Peck defines evil as: “The exercise of political power—that is, the imposition of one’s will over others by overt or covert coercion…” Or in other words: it is the use “of political power to destroy others,” for the purpose of defending or preserving the integrity of one’s sick self.
According to Peck, "The core of evil is ego-centricity, whereby others are sacrificed rather than the ego of the individual." These words and the analysis that follows by Scott Peck give us an insight into the world of evil in Asian sport, and in particular in the world of Bodybuilding.
I remember how Sazali Samad, the reigning 3 time Amateur World Bodybuilding champion (and 5 time Mr. Asia) from Malaysia cried foul in the Asian Games when the UAE’s Salem Abdullah Zahmi Mohd was declared the winner of the men’s under 65KG bodybuilding event. The consensus, even by the untrained eye, was that Sazali was far and away the much better physique. This was the second time that Sazali had been robbed of victory. The first time was in the Manila South East Asia Games. To add insult to injury, this aberration in the score sheet took place barely 6 weeks after Sazali won the MR.Universe title for the third time, in the Czech Republic in October 2006.
At the heart of this shocking set of events is Mr. Paul Chua, the Secretary General of the Asian Bodybuilding Federation. (ABBF).
Milos Sarcev, former Mr. Olympia contender, and coach to Sazali, in attempting to right the wrong visited on Sazali, wrote to officials in the International Federation of Bodybuilders (IFBB), including its president, Mr. Rafeal Santonja. Brave beyond words, Sarcev made 3 serious allegations against Mr. Paul Chua; viz: That over the tenure of his holding the office of Secretary General, a pattern of dishonest dealings and conduct in the running of bodybuilding contests in which the ABBF has a hand, has emerged. The alleged offending actions of Chua, according to Sarcev are in:
fixing Judging Score Sheets, and consequently fixing the results
manipulating Official Weigh-ins
manipulating Doping test results
Says Sarcev: “ I have witnessed myself the Official Weigh-in in Doha and I’ve seen his modus operandi” He explains: “Chua does not allow anyone from the media, the promoter or participants to witness the competitor stepping on the scale, not even the coach!” Sarcev elaborates: “When a competitor from China complained to Chua that he could not see his own weight, he was warned by Chua that he’d be suspended unless he kept his mouth shut!”
Sarcev recounts his chance meeting with an official judge from Qatar in the competition in Doha, who responded when Sarcev asked him what he was doing during the prejudging. The judge replied, “sketching flowers!” This judge explained to Sarcev that it was futile to judge as every judge knew that the score sheets were not going to count – “Chua had already pre-prepared score sheets detailing the results exactly as he had predetermined before the competition!” Sarcev alleges. He went on to highlight: “ I’d heard allegations when I arrived in Doha for the Games that the gold medal for the Asian Games had been sold by Chua to the eventual winner for US75,000.00”
Sarcev’s allegations on the long term manipulation of dope test results were corroborated by Dr. Lim Heng Hong, erstwhile Chairman of the Medical and Doping Commission of the ABBF. Says Lim: “I do the dope testing, but the ironical part is that despite repeated requests, I have yet to see the dope test results of certain key competitions, which goes directly to Paul Chua, who then determines which athlete gets suspended and which will not, even when their test results are positive!” Even more sinister, according to Lim, is the way that Paul Chua’s select group of cronies, “huddle over the computer beside the judges’ table.” “Even I have been shooed away when I got too near the computer,” says Lim who has since stepped down from his position of Chairman of the Medical Commission. Lim added: “I have recently disassociated myself from Chua and the farce that he presents to the world!” Says Sarcev: “The reason for that is because the results have been sold, they have been predetermined!”
Sarcev, in explaining his reason for sticking his neck out: “Hard working athletes who put in their souls to achieve something in life are cheated by this unscrupulous gentleman, who takes what is rightly theirs and gives it to the highest bidder to gain personal financial benefits.” What did Sarcev get for all his troubles? He was suspended by the IFBB.
An interesting fact emerged when some investigation was carried out. Paul Chua is not only an IFBB Vice President. He was also the franchise holder of the Weider health food and equipment franchise for Asia, under his company, Good Health Distributors Sdn Bhd. It is well known that the IFBB was established and controlled by the Weider brothers, Joe and Ben Weider.
In my view, the IFBB and the ABBF will soon degenerate into alphabet soup organizations unless they do something quickly to address these alleged shortcomings.
It is well established that in building a good brand, it is critical that the entire organization should abide by and live up to the core values of the organization in formulating policies and interacting with others. By ensuring that the words and actions of the organization are consistent, this will reinforce the brand. That is why I often advise clients to ensure that their positioning and brand identity should, as far as possible reflect the truth. Only then can you ensure consistency and not just focus on preserving a self-serving image. Many people forget this and focus entirely on cultivating an image of being good and upright brands. They specialize in self-deceit and thus become People of the Lie or should we say, Brands of the Lie? What they fail to realize is that you will eventually be found out and exposed and the brand can then be consigned to the waste-heap!
