Shapawi takes MHC to task; Please do not blame us, says Tengku Abdullah

As published in Mailsport today

By Vijhay Vick

vijhay@mmail.com.my

PETALING JAYA — Sports Commissioner Ahmad Shapawi Ismail is wondering what is taking the Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC) so long to submit its minutes from the Oct 13 extraordinary general meeting (EGM).

The EGM was held to make changes to the constitution and the 30-day deadline to submit the minutes has lapsed. The minutes are crucial for the Sports Commissioner’s Office decide if it will approve the newly adopted constitution.

MHC was supposed to hold its AGM by May 31 but Shapawi agreed to postpone it till year end to accommodate the changes to the constitution.

“The national body informed us they were in the midst of sorting out a new constitution so they needed more time to conduct the AGM. We extended it until the end of the year,” he said. “

As things stand, it must be conducted this year or we will issue them a reminder.

“The onus is on them to submit the necessary paperwork for the EGM. Until the minutes are received, its EGM is considered null and void,” said Shapawi.

Several affiliates have questioned the legality of the EGM as they claim it did not have a valid quorum as five states — Perak, Selangor, Penang, Kedah and Terengganu — came with two men representatives and the governing council was removed despite it not being on the agenda.

The old constitution expressly states affiliates could only send two delegates if they were of different gender.

Section 16.3 of the MHC constitution states notice, including the agenda, must be sent to the affiliates 21 days prior to an EGM or AGM.

Even MHC president Tengku Abdullah Shah was unaware the minutes had not been submitted.

“While I’m not sure if the minutes of the EGM has been sent to the Sports Commissioner, the draft of the amended constitution has been submitted,” he said.

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KUALA LUMPUR — The FA of Malaysia (FAM) denies it is to blame for Malaysia’s dismal results leading up to the Asean Football Federation (AFF) Cup.

“The team’s recent results are worrying but I hope they will bounce back in the AFF Cup,” said FAM president Tengku Abdullah Ahmad Shah.

“It’s not fair to blame FAM. The circumstances were such we could only appoint a new national coach after our elections.

“I will try to meet the players before they leave to motivate them and it’s up to the players and coaches to do well in the competition.”

The national team were left without a national coach following the move not to renew Datuk K. Rajagobal’s contract which ended in December.

Dollah Salleh only took over on July 1, despite sending his resume in January.

Harimau Malaya suffered their fourth defeat in five matches under Dollah on Sunday, losing 3-1 to AFF Cup rivals Vietnam in Hanoi.

The team also lost to Tajikistan (4-1), Indonesia (2-0) and Syria (3-0). The team’s only win was a 4-1 home victory over Cambodia in September.

Harimau Malaya are in Group B with Myanmar, whom they face on Sunday, followed by games against Thailand (Nov 26) and Singapore (Nov 29).

Dollah finalised his squad yesterday, with skipper Aidil Zafuan Abdul Radzak and winger R. Gopinanthan dropped due to injuries while Wan Zaharulnizam Zakaria and Farhan Roslan did not make the final 22.

Tengku Abdullah also confirmed plans to privatise the M-League next year would not materialise.

“We don’t want to pressure the teams. We want everything to be ready before we can privatise the league. We want everything to be transparent,” he said after receiving a RM2.35 million contribution from Bank Islam yesterday.