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Elite athlete takes Sports Minister to task; asks what are his vision and mission for sports?

UPDATE (11.13am): The National Sports Council director general Datuk Ahmad Shapawi Ismail issued a statement regarding Irfan's outburst.

Full statement below:



ORIGINAL POST

He has broken the national record 13 times and brought honour to Malaysia at the SEA Games and Asian Championships.
Yet, discuss thrower Irfan Shamsuddin has been left heart broken as he resorted to venting his frustration on Instagram, demanding to know why his coach's contract has not been renewed and his plans to train abroad shelved. 
And the national athlete has placed Youth and Sports Minister Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman in the spot - a move that is rarely seen prior the May 9 General Election.
In the emotional posting, Irfan wrote: "Just want to ask you Syed Saddiq, first you dissolved the Podium Programme. Then my coach's contract has been terminated with immediate effect after I broke the national record 13 times, won three SEA Games gold medals and a silver medal at the Asian Championships ac…
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beIN Sports urges Serie A to "seriously reconsider" hosting Italian Super Cup in Saudi Arabia

PRESS RELEASE Ahead of the Supercoppa Italiana (Italian Super Cup) match between Juventus and AC Milan scheduled to be held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on 16 January, beIN Media Group has written to Luigi de Siervo, CEO of Serie A, to express its disappointment at the latter’s decision to hold the match in Saudi Arabia. Additionally, beIN Media Group calls for de Siervo to join the international sporting community’s fight against the piracy carried outbySaudi Arabian backed“beoutQ.” In the letter, beIN Media Group CEO Yousef Al-Obaidly iterates the company’s stance – that, by proceeding with the game in Jeddah, Serie A is not only endorsing the flagrant daily breach of international norms and rule of law, but would also have failed to uphold its duty to its member clubs and the wider sporting community, including other major international leagues whose intellectual property rights and revenue streams are threatened by“beoutQ’s”actions. Since August 2017,“beoutQ”has been stealing the broadcas…
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TM to pull out from M-League?

2018 will end in about two weeks.

The conversations have been consistently about "bad economy" (or to some the 3Rs - rights, race and religion) since May 9 happened.

And now there are talks of Telekom Malaysia pulling out as the title sponsor of the M-League. This despite having signed a lucrative deal with the guardians of the Malaysian football league - dubbed as the "biggest agreement in Malaysian sports history worth RM480 million (RM60 million over eight years).

On Feb 1, NST reported:

Telekom Malaysia's (TM) Unifi brand is the new title sponsor for the Malaysian Super League and Malaysia Cup in a collaboration with Football Malaysia LLP (FMLLP) until 2025.

TM’s premier convergence brand Unifi will also co-sponsor the FA Cup as the eight-year agreement, beginning this season, marks TM’s continued support towards local football development and uplifting the standard of sports in the country.

With the sponsorship, the league is now known as “Unifi Liga Super Malays…
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Overcrowded stadium at AFF final joins series of Whys

In about two weeks 2018 will come to an end.

Yet, it seems the year will leave us with more questions than answers.

Why...

1. Why were fans seen sitting and standing at the stairways during the AFF Cup final (1st leg) between Malaysia and Vietnam at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil yesterday? What if there was a fire or emergency? Who will then be held responsible? This has happened before and it is still happening again. Haven't we learnt (anything)? And to even suggest a viewing party within the stadium complex ...

2. Why is it still difficult to accept how the ticketing system for the final left many fuming? Below is the statement by the ticketing agency. Acceptable?


3. Why do we behave like we have never organised major events? Hiccups are expected but to get the basics wrong (as pointed out above)?
Remember the result system of the 2017 KL SEA Games where the outcome of certain matches were flashed out hours after the competition ended?

4. Speaking of the 2017 SEA Games, …
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Time to wake up ... and smell the snowy cranberry latte

And the common remark I receive when meeting those within the sports fraternity these days is ... the "boy is clueless".

I hope this article will not be the "garbage that sets the tone for the remaining sports media lowlifes to emulate in their so-called news", as recently remarked by a supposed educated man within the industry.

Observations:

1. The minister has a major "perception" problem. Period. Perception is defined as "a belief or opinion, often held by many people and based on how things seem". He is surrounded by those with very little insights about the fraternity, thus making things worse for him. It could, however, work to his benefit as he will not have a biased view when tackling issues.

2. The minister and his deputy have repeatedly acknowledged they are not well-versed with sports. They can choose to rely on the several experienced hands within the ministry - namely secretary general Datuk Lokman Hakim Ali and National Sports Coun…
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Kinrara Oval closure - who is to blame?

Efforts are being made to save the Kinrara Oval.

A petition is out. Many are quick to blame the land owners for "killing cricket".

However, the announcement of the Kinrara Oval in Puchong has somewhat opened a can of worms.

More questions are now begging for answers.

1. Why hasn't the Malaysian Cricket Association (MCA) paid the premium to the land owners?
2. The Oval used to be a public park (a green space) before the venue was built. Will Puchong folks get back their green space?
3. Why didn't MCA inform the Youth and Sports Ministry that it failed to pay the premium to the land owners?
4. Was wasn't this matter addressed when the stadium was built? Didn't anyone foresee such a thing could happen especially in Puchong where development has been overwhelming in recent years?

Here's a fun fact: The government spent money renovating the venue ahead of the 2017 SEA Games. And now the stadium will be closed. Sheer waste isn't it?

Let's simplify this…
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How much is Oltmans and Walsh costing Malaysia?

Here's a message I received today:

With Roelant Oltmans in and Terry Walsh still retained, how much is it costing us?

Oltmans, 64, signed a two-year contract with the Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC) recently. He replaced Stephen Van Huizen, who is now the national assistant coach. The other coaching line-ups have not changed, including technical director Terry Walsh.

The Malaysian government has, since May 9, repeatedly said it lacks funds.

With the recent (debatable and questionable) revealtion of Lim Teong Kim's RM175,000 per month salary and claims that sports associations have not received funding, it is only natural for certain quarters to question the financial impact of Oltmans and Walsh's positions.

Oltmans was Pakistan's head coach prior his Malaysian stint.

In a letter addressed to the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) the Dutchman said:

“I’m responsible for the performance and the results of the team, but I feel that the circumstances at present don’t c…
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