No. 171 — Enough already!

As published in Mailsport today



By Haresh Deol

PETALING JAYA — Malaysia are now ranked 171 in the world. Yes, you read that right. 

This is the worst performance ever by the national team, further frustrating fans after Harimau Malaya were whacked silly 10-0 by United Arab Emirates in a World Cup qualifier last month.

Malaysia are tied at the spot with suspended Indonesia and remain among the worst performing countries in the region —behind the likes of the Philippines (ranked 134), Thailand (145), Vietnam (149), Singapore (157) and Myanmar (163).

Indonesia was suspended by Fifa following government interference. 

Supporters and stakeholders have taken the FA of Malaysia (FAM) officials to task, stressing they have failed in producing a strong national outfit — despite the millions of ringgit spent over  decades and world-class facilities.

Caretaker coach Datuk Ong Kim Swee is well aware of the sentiments against the national body and the team. To him, being placed at the rotten end of the table is disappointing.

“I know what is being said (against FAM and the team), especially on social media. Even if I am not in the position (caretaker coach), I would still be hurt over our latest ranking,” said Ong, who replaced Dollah Salleh.

“But there is no point in looking back. I’m not trying to run away from the responsibility but let’s look at the facts. We’ve not won a single match since the start of the year. And I say this with no disrespect to Dollah (Salleh).”

He is determined to improve the ranking, starting with an international friendly match against Laos in Bangkok on Oct 8 followed by a World Cup/Asian Cup qualifier against Timor Leste in Dili on Oct 13.

“It’s not going to be easy but we have an opportunity to redeem ourselves in the two matches. The players know it and are eager to collect points.

“I just took over this position, I didn’t ask to be placed here. But I’ve been given a task and I’ll try my best.”

Ong’s words may pacify the fans to a certain extent, but the dumbfounding silence by FAM officials continues for reasons they know best. At 171, they have humiliated the nation and must be held accountable.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

From 'Mr P' to 'Kemelut Dalaman BAM': Four chapters of 'mesej Whatsapp layang'

Image
Surat layang , or rather ' mesej Whatsapp (or some will pronounce as Wasup) layang '. That was what I received this afternoon from a number that is not registered on my phone. The sender identified him/herself as " ahli yg memerhati tingkah laku BAM " (Badminton Association of Malaysia). The four chapters were titled as:  'Siapa dia Tan Sri BAM "Mr P"' Perletakan Jawatan Presiden BAM 'Siapa Tengku Zafrul' Kemelut Dalaman BAM There were many allegations to which the sender justified as not " fitnah " but " hakikat apa yg berlaku ". The four chapters highlights Mr P's "connection kuat ", goes into why Tengku Zafrul was named as the incoming BAM president, and takes issue with the establishment of 'Yayasan Badminton Nasional' and Akademi Badminton Malaysia. The writer (unsure if the sender is also the writer) also wrote that ' majority in the Council dalam BAM semua tak berani buat laporan sebab tak
Read more

Pelepasan cukai tambahan untuk pembelian alatan sukan, sewaan fasiliti sukan antara cadangan untuk Bajet 2024

Image
Berikut merupakan antara cadangan-cadangan Kementerian Belia dan Sukan untuk Bajet 2024 yang akan dibentangkan bulan hadapan. 1. Pengasingan sukan daripada kategori gaya hidup 2. Meneruskan dan memperluaskan inisiatif pelepasan cukai tambahan bagi aktiviti sukan berdasarkan senarai baharu 103 sukan berkuatkuasa Mac 2023 seperti berikut: 3. Pelepasan cukai tambahan sebanyak RM5,000 khusus berkaitan dengan aktiviti sukan yang dibelanjakan oleh individu bagi: • pembelian peralatan sukan untuk aktiviti sukan mengikut Akta Pembangunan Sukan 1997. • bayaran sewaan atau fi kemasukan ke mana-mana fasiliti sukan. • bayaran fi pendaftaran bagi penyertaan pertandingan sukan yang diluluskan di bawah Akta Pembangunan Sukan 1997. • Bayaran jurulatih/latihan/kelas untuk aktiviti sukan mengikut Akta Pembangunan Sukan 1997. Justifikasi: Impak kepada negara 1. Pembudayaan gaya hidup sihat dan aktif melalui aktiviti bersukan kepada semua peringkat sebagai pelaburan  kepada negara bagi mengurangkan beban
Read more

Ramlan saga - Part 3

UPDATE (May 23, 2012: 12.06pm): Dilema JKR, 'dua' ketua pengarah - this was brought to my attention. Read here for more. ----- I first wrote about the effort to remove National Sports Institute director general Dr Ramlan Aziz in March - as seen here . Then I wrote about the same subject again early May . I was invited to be a guest for this week's Kafe Sukan but had to decline as the recording was done on Sunday - the same day I left the country. Apparently Ramlan's predicament was discussed. Despite receiving numerous SMS-es - for and against what was discussed - I will refrain from commenting as I have yet to view the show. I have also been told there are efforts to get certain people to replace Ramlan. To me that is secondary. I have still not obtained the answers to these questions; 1. According to the NSI Act, only the minister can hire or fire the director general. Has the minister issued such a directive? 2. According to the country's Lab
Read more