Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin has defended the small prize money for children who won a recent cycling competition.

He said giving larger amounts might spoil the children, and foster a mindset where they compete simply for monetary gain.

"We want them to grow up with the right values and attitude.

“Yes, money is important and if they do well in sports, they will be financially rewarded later on but let's not spoil them from when they are young.

"Let them want to win for the sake of winning, to be the best not because of money but because of determination and honour," he said in a Facebook posting today.

Photos of the minister presenting mock cheques as low as RM10 to children who participated in the Junior Cycling Malaysia (JCM) competition went viral today, with many criticising the small amounts.

Khairy admitted that the mock cheques were perhaps inappropriate, and that JCM would stop such practices in future.

However, he said the amount of prize money had been made public long before the competition took place.

Therefore, he added there was no issue of the participants not knowing what they would be receiving or feel under appreciated.

"Most parents who brought their children (to the competition) did not think about the prize money, but had sacrificed their time for their children's interests in cycling.

"And they were happily there supporting their children," he said.