Foul!

PRESS RELEASE Teenage water skier Aaliyah Yoong Hanifah (pic) has taken a giant leap forward by adding another feather to her growing list of achievements. The 14-year-old was in her element as she claimed a first ever podium finish in tricks at the prestigious Nautique Waterski US Junior Masters at the Callaway Gardens, Atlanta on Friday. Aaliyah, a triple gold medallist at the 2017 Kuala Lumpur SEA Games, had taken second spot in the first round with a score of 6,530. That was just what she needed as only the top three skiers out of six, progress to the final. Aaliyah then stayed consistent enough when it mattered to produce a final score of 6,400, behind Canada’s Paige Rini who finished with 8,020. It was just shy of her season best of 6,960 and some mark off her national record of 7,600 but it was enough to secure her a second placed finish after American Kristen Baldwin only came third with 5,570. It is quite the achievement for the talented young

The Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) had yesterday started their investigation into the selection of an ice skater for the KL SEA Games last year. It is understood the Council's disciplinary board met "four witnesses" including those from the Ice Skating Association of Malaysia (ISAM). The board is investigating claims that the skater in question, who was part of  the 3,000m short track speed skating relay team that won gold, was not being selected by the council for the regional Games. The relay team won the gold medal as Malaysia emerged overall champions in the short track speed staking competition with four gold and three bronze medals. "Two former OCM officials, one allegedly linked to the matter, will be called in soon," said a source. Twentytwo13  had on May 22 reported that an ex-OCM official would be investigated. It was then reported that a complaint was lodged and the matter was referred to the disciplinary board but the matter  was p

Yoong siblings with their mother and coach Norzeela Sulaiman in Florida. PRESS RELEASE WATERSKI siblings Aaliyah Yoong Hanifah, Aiden Yoong Hanifah and Adam Yoong Hanifah will be looking to rewrite some national records after a two-week stint in Florida. The trio have spent the last two weeks training at the renowned Cory Pickos ski school at Santa Rosa Beach, Florida. They have performed above their personal bests during training and the Florida Inboards Record tournament this weekend will be the perfect test for them. The 14-year-old Aaliyah will be looking to better at least one of her three records from slalom, jump and her pet event - tricks. The triple SEA Games gold medallist has never failed to rewrite her tricks record every year. She currently holds a personal best of 7,600 points achieved during the Asian Oceanian Championships in Australia last year while she also holds the Asian record of 7,250 points. In slalom, she will look to do better than the 0

Azim Zabidi (Twitter: @Azim_Zabidi)  Phones are ringing within the circle as conversations zero in on one question: Why was Datuk Seri Azim Zabidi  nominated for the FA of Malaysia (FAM) president's post? Also, why Azim - already wearing several important hats - is considering the opportunity to sit in FAM, a national body that requires a major overhaul. Utusan Malaysia quoted Azim as saying: “Sebelum ini PBNP (Pahang FA) ada menyua­rakan perkara ini kepada saya dan pada mulanya saya menolak kerana merasakan keadaan tidak sesuai tetapi selepas itu mereka mahu mencalonkan saya, saya kata nak calonkan tidak menjadi masalah dan saya berterima kasih kepada Tengku Muda Pahang, Tengku Abdul Rahman Sultan Ahmad Shah di atas kepercayaan ini. “Bukan Pahang sahaja, ada beberapa negeri lain turut menyatakan sokongan tetapi saya perlu berjumpa dengan ahli gabungan lain bagi melihat sokongan mereka, sekiranya tidak begitu kuat, saya fikir lebih baik tidak perlu (bertan­ding). “Sa

UPDATE (May 12, 1.18pm):  Umno Youth, Wanita and Puteri are scheduled to have a press conference at 2pm. Here are some questions I hope that would be asked (if they allow questions from the Press that is): i. Why didn't Umno Youth, Wanita and Puteri play check and balance and looked into Dr Mahathir Mohamad's calls just before he quit Umno in 2016? (Read: Umno Youth loyal because Najib produces results, says Khairy ). ii. Despite so many nationwide programmes involving the masses and youths, it is evident they failed to translate into votes. Shouldn't Pemuda, Wanita and Puteri be also held accountable over Barisan Nasional's failure in GE14? iii. And if change they are demanding - then should the change start with new faces heading Pemuda, Wanita and Puteri? --- UPDATE (May 12, 12.49am):  Watch the KiniTV video   Tegang  ...pemuda umno 'bergelut' pada majlis ulangtahun Umno Also read:  Khairy:  The time to rebuild Umno star

UPDATE (May 20, 2018; 3.15pm):   Lawyer representing Table Tennis Association of Malaysia admitted manner in which loans amounting to RM8 million given out by association to two developers was "not right" and that his client is taking steps to terminate the contracts. He said this after attending an exco meeting at the association's office in Bukit Jalil this morning. --- ORIGINAL POST The Table Tennis Association of Malaysia (TTAM) has been smashed with allegations of giving out RM8 million worth of "loans" to two developers, raising eyebrows and irking at least two of its affiliates. A police report has also been lodged over the matter. According to a letter by the Kuala Lumpur Table Tennis Association (KLTTA), written on May 3: i. TTAM's Financial Statement (ended March 31, 2018) presented during the 6th Exco Meeting on April 21, 2018 saw a total sum of RM8 million loans granted to two private companies - Ekal Jaya Sdn Bhd an

UPDATE: May 5 (1.39pm) OCM's new line up 2018-2021 President: Datuk Seri Norza Zakaria Deputy president: Datuk Seri Abdul Azim Zabidi Vice presidents: Datuk Paduka Mumtaz Jaafar, Datuk Ong Poh Eng, Mahindra Vallipuram, Tan Sri Mohamad Noor Abdul Rahim, Prof Datuk Dr Shamala Subramaniam Secretary-general: Datuk Nazifuddin Najib Assistant secretary-general: Chan Foong Keong & Moira Tan Siew See Treasurer: Ahmad Feisal Ahmad Tajuddin Assistant treasurer: Datuk Amarjit Singh Gill Norza paid tribute to outgoing president Tunku Imran Jaafar and assistanct secretary-general Datuk Sieh Kok Chi.  He had also in his speech said the "workings within OCM cannot be based on the interpretations of one or two individuals".  He was unimpressed with the mudslinging and poison pen letter that surfaced days before today's election, adding: "I'll leave it to the authorities to investigate and name those responsible for the letter

Another 'fairy tale' this week: 1) National athlete has a coach up until the Kuala Lumpur SEA Games. 2) The national athlete is then left on his own immediately after regional Games. 3) National athlete prepares for 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast without a coach. 4) National athlete appeals to the stakeholders, including Olympic Council of Malaysia, requesting if a coach can join the national contingent. Request denied. 5) National athlete was not too sure what was his KPI for Gold Coast. 6) Now national athlete is preparing for Asian Games - once again without a coach. 7) National athlete is once again unsure what is the KPI for the Games in Jakarta-Palembang. 8) Isn't it the onus of the stakeholders to ensure the national athlete has a coach? The national coach is after all under a programme initiated by an agency under the Youth and Sports Ministry. 9) And since some officials love playing the blame game and shooting the messenger, let's

These are genuine questions that I truly hope to obtain answers. i. Is a Chef de Mission of a particular country entitled to bring a guest (eg. spouse, next of kin, friends)? ii. Is the CDM's guest allowed to stay in the Athletes' Village? iii. Is the guest allowed to wear the national contingent's attire throughout the duration of a particular multi-sport Games?