Why Azim Zabidi?

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).

“Saya akan maklumkan pendirian saya sama ada akan bertan­ding atau sebaliknya dalam tempoh terdekat... mungkin selepas puasa, kena banyak buat solat istikharah selepas ini.”

Read the full report here.

Those wondering who Azim is, read 'Will May 5 mark new beginning in OCM?'

Azim should:

i.  As the National Sports Institute (NSI) chairman - an agency under the Youth and Sports Ministry - concentrate on the Podium Programme which has come under fire following the failure to meet its objectives at the recent Gold Coast Commonwealth Games.

ii. Realise he has just been elected as Olympic Council Malaysia deputy president and have a mammoth task assisting his colleagues restructure the organisation which has been managed according to the "interpretations" of a handful of individuals in the past.

iii. Keep close tabs on the athletes and make the necessary arrangements (or planning) as he leads the national contingent as Chef de Mission at the 2018 Asian Games in August.

iv. Be told that joining FAM would mean he would be added into at least four WhatsApp groups. I"m sure he doesn't need another group chat on his phone.

Azim, being a former finance man, should be wise enough to calculate his responsibilities and not end up being another Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim who was once lambasted for wearing too many hats.

On another note ...

Sportswriters Association of Malaysia president Ahmad Khawari Isa continued his call for the resignation of the National Football Development Programme chief executive officer. Among his series of tweets this morning:

I sense this is only the beginning.