Happy Wesak Day

The song remains the same

In February 2012, FA of Malaysia (FAM) deputy president Tengku Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah met with the police and the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission at the Shahzan House in Ampang over claims of match-fixing in the M-League.

It was the beginning of an alliance to combat the disease. FAM even hired former cop Osman Bakar to head the coordination and integrity department.

What has been done since?

Today (at 11.30am), Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin will meet the FAM integrity committee at the National Sports Council (NSC) in Bukit Jalil to discuss about match-fixing. How different will this meeting be?

Also, Khairy must take note that in March, Fifa wrote to the South African government warning them against a judicial inquiry into football match-fixing scandals, saying the matter should rather be handled by the country's football association as reported here.

Read a commentary published in Mailsport today about this and the national shuttlers' embarrassing performance in the Sudirman Cup.

And since Khairy is heading to the Bukit Jalil, perhaps the time would be better spent thinking about the 'right' man to replace Yassin Salleh as the Sports Commissioner. 

Former Mailsport journo Rizal Hashim seems to have a candidate for the job as seen on his blog.

HD says: As Led Zeppelin sang, the song remains the same.

Pathetic!

The 2013 Sudirman Cup will be remembered for the wrong reason.

As Malaysia play host, the national shuttlers simply failed in their quest after losing 3-2 to Germany in the second group stage match en route to being smashed out of the tournament.

The national team had lost 3-2 to Taiwan on Sunday.

New Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin was clearly irked with the performance of the team as he  tweeted: "...BAM you are in a crisis" right after Malaysia lost the match at the Putra Stadium in Bukit Jalil.

The result comes at a bad timing for the BA of Malaysia (BAM) who are already struggling to justify its presence in the Badminton Asian Confederation (BAC) in the form of Nadzmi Salleh who now heads both BAM and BAC.

Many continue to lambast the national association for its failure to address the common issues at home - most importantly the poor standards of play adopted by the national shuttlers - but prefers to head regional and world bodies instead. Nadzmi was earlier in the running for the Badminton World Federation (BWF) presidency post but later pulled out.

Nevertheless, why blame the very many BAM officials who do not sweat it out on the courts?

The athletes too should shoulder the blame and they know it for a fact. This is evident after men's doubles pair Koo Kean Keat-Tan Boon Heong and mixed doubles duo Chan Peng Soon-Goh Liu Ying admitted they had only themselves to blame for their poor outings.

Kean Keat and Boon Heong failed in their opening act against Taiwan, losing to a world No 26 pair while Peng Soon and Liu Ying suffered a rude shock after they were edged in the first match against Germany.

To expect a string of world champions is shallow but there needs to be a concerted effort to ensure the national players are at par, if not better than their arch rivals. Losing to minnows like Taiwan and Germany is a poor reflection of the team's performance.

Money - and plenty of it - is being spent on the national team. A bulk of it come from the Youth and Sports Ministry through its funding arm the National Sports Council while the sport enjoys commercial success through sponsorships from corporate bodies. Such poor results will not augur well for the sport and will certainly devalue the sport.

More importantly, enough of tax payers money have been spent on our shuttlers who have been providing mediocre results. We were humiliated at home and it is time for the powers-that-be wake up from their slumber and realise the money should be better spent elsewhere.

HD says: Would prefer tax payers money being spent on repairing potholes on major roads in KL and PJ instead of wasting them on badminton players who crash out pre-maturely in major tournaments.

Trouble among hockey coaches?

UPDATE May 22: MHC president Tengku Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah says; "I will sort this out", as published in Mailsport.

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There seems to be an "issue" between national coach Paul Revington and 1Mas development coach Lim Chiow Chuan.

Revington had apparently sent Chiow Chuan an email which saw the latter reply in what has been interpreted as a "threatening email". Revington then sends a lawyer letter demanding for an apology and retraction and Chiow Chuan adheres.

The Malaysian Hockey Condeferation is well aware of the episode and considers the matter as "settled". Really?

Word has it that not many people want to get involved in the episode.

What is certain is that Malaysian hockey is bigger than individuals.

Read more in today's Mailsport.

HD says: Everyone should just focus on their tasks.

Kien Keat-Boon Heong lose again

Malaysia suffered a huge blow in their opening fixture of the Badminton World Federation (BWF) Sudirman Cup, when men’s doubles pair Koo Kien Keat and Tan Boon Heong  (pic) lost in straight games 21-18, 21-18 to Taiwan’s Lee Shen Mu-Tsai Chia Hsin.

“We thought we would be in control, but we were proven wrong. They (Sheng Mu – Chia Hsin) were clearly stronger in front court, and their attacking was better,” a disappointed Kien Keat said after the match.

When questioned if they should play against Germany next, Boon Heong said “It depends on our coaches actually, I think the more confident pair should play.

“As for me, I think my confidence has dropped a little after this defeat.”

Read the full report here.

Outplayed? Outclassed? Isn't it high time for the BA of Malaysia (BAM) to do something about the pair? Or should we still keep them?

Is it true that even the coaching staff have given up on the world No 3 pair?

HD says: Oh by the way, happy birthday to BAM secretary Ng Chin Chai!

What about Dr Ramlan?

UPDATE May 22: Dr Ramlan likely to remain as sports advisor as published in Mailsport.

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He was the former National Sports Council director general. He went on to lead the National Sports Institute before he was asked to play advisor to Sports Minister Ahmad Shabery Cheek.

So will Dr Ramlan Aziz continue to serve in that position? Or will he just concentrate on being the Anti doping Agency Malaysia chief?

While some continue to criticise his management skills, Ramlan is a known figure in the local sporting scene and enjoys good rapport with most of the national athletes.

Ramlan is also among the very few senior officials within the Youth and Sports Ministry with an impressive academic background and resume. He has logical ideas.

It will be a shame if Ramlan is restricted to just Adamas alone for he certainly has plenty more to offer.

To those unware of Ramlan's exit from the Natioanl Sports Institute, read Another coup d'etat? and Ramlan saga - Part 3.

Ramlan aside, the Youth and Sports Ministry needs to distant itself from the very many little Napoleans within.

HD says: Doc, we should just go for jamming and later have some banana leaf. More satisfying...

Suddenly everyone wants to be KJ's friend

As published in The Malay Mail today.

Suddenly eveyone wants to be Khairy Jamaluddin's friend.

The Rembau MP and Umno Youth chief will now head the Youth and Sports Ministry — a ministry often believed to have plenty in its coffers.

After all, the ministry has been guilty of sending an entourage of officials for international tournaments – at times the officials outnumber the athletes. In 2006, the ministry spent RM22.4 million on professional services, celebrations and hospitality which earned a ticking off by the Auditor General.
There was also the purchase of two premier chalets in Port Dickson.

Some joke that just by slapping a 1Malaysia logo on a proposal, one would be able to obtain money from the ministry easily — may it be serving food during the very many meetings often chaired by little Napoleons or organising an event.

Many expect Khairy to do wonders, perhaps due to his past association with football.

He was part of the group that initiated UPB-MyTeam before becoming FA of Malaysia (FAM) deputy president in 2007. Khairy’s vision then was to encourage more clubs to be part of the M-League but he learnt it the hard way.

Financial constraints forced MyTeam to shut down while FAM is no place for a vocal leader like Khairy. He did not contest in the 2010 election after having only served one term.

Khairy needs time to settle in.

He is willing to listen, publicly asking the masses to share their ideas as per his video uploaded on Keek recently.

Some say Khairy needs to revamp FAM and abolish Article 88. Obviously, many are clearly ignorant that Fifa do not condone government interference.

And to think Harimau Malaya will break into the top 10 ranking during his tenure, oh please.
Malaysian sport is not all about football.

Khairy can start by ensuring national sports associations (NSAs) are not overly dependent on government funds. NSAs need to generate their own income.

Khairy should also follow through former minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Shabery Cheek’s Sports Industry notion. Allow the industries to be the main players while the ministry turn itself into a watchdog. This will also release the ministry from any monetary burden.

The Sports Commissioner’s Office and the Sports Development Act ought to be taken seriously.
Strengthen the relationship between the ministry and the Olympic Council of Malaysia.
Khairy needs to change the perception of youth about the government.

That is, after all, Khairy’s biggest challenge as Barisan Nasional tries to regain the faith of the younger generation ahead of the next general election.

The ministry is not exclusive to the sports community alone. It needs to engage with the masses. It is after all funded by taxpayers’ money.

Forget about the CON-sultants. Forget about grand and expensive ideas. It is best to return to the basics.

HD says: Will the same folks who were part of MyTeam will be part of the ministry too???