Foul!

Rocky Bru started his blog post with these words: "I don't mean to be rude, my zzz refers to the three Zs: Zahid Hamidi, Zafrul Abdul Aziz and Zambry Kadir. (Rafidah Aziz got the first two Zs but missed out on the third in Why Zahid, Why Zafrul?) in Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim's newly-formed Cabinet." Read Anwar's Cabinet: zzz ... I was attending the Methodist Boys School Sentul (MBSS) Old Boys' Association's 62nd anniversary dinner last night when Anwar named his Cabinet. The reaction among my former school mates - those who were my classmates and my seniors - were: "Tengku Zafrul masuk Kabinet?" "Zahid Hamidi is the deputy prime minister? "It's a joke. Zzzz ..." Thank God Tan Sri Azman Hashim, the AmBank big boss who is also a former MBSS student, drowned the conversations as he took the centrestage at the HSH Convention Centre Sentul, in Kuala Lumpur, singing some 10 songs.  Boy, that man can really sing! Or perhaps he was ...

"The real winner is Atok (Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad), lah." "He may have lost Langkawi, but he has pretty much killed Umno and BN." My phone has been buzzing throughout the day with many sharing their views. But most of them start the conversation with a common question - so will be PM10? The 15th General Election in Malaysia on Nov 19 resulted in a hung parliament. It is an unprecedented moment in the nation's history. The battle to be the next prime minister is between Pakatan Harapan's Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and Perikatan Nasional's Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin. Anwar is eager to fulfill his ambition of being PM. This is pretty much his last kopek.  Muhyiddin is adamant of reclaiming the top spot in Putrajaya following his brief (17 months) stint in office (between 2020 and 2021). "Dr M's move of splitting the Malay votes contributed to Perikatan Nasional making an impression in GE15." But there were those who insisted that PH, having the mo...

Malaysia Snooker and Billiards Federation president Melvin Chia had late last night informed me about Lim Kok Leong's ( main picture ) historic win at the World Amateur Snooker Championship in  Antalya, Turkey. Lim defeated Amir Sarkhosh, the former Asian Champion from Iran, 5-0. My first question to Melvin was: "So was he there alone, or with a coach?" Melvin replied: "Where got money for full time coach lah . Sam Chong is only hired on an ad hoc basis." Melvin was referring to the legendary Sam Chong, who coached the Malaysian side during the a series of world events held in Pandan Indah, Kuala Lumpur recently. So who was in Turkey? The cue artists who represented Malaysia were Lim, Moh Keen Hoo and Chooi Yew Wah. Their team manager was Iskandar Perwira Putra while another Malaysian was there as a referee. The best ever achievement by a Malaysian before this year's edition was reaching the quarter finals. Not bad for a sport that doesn't enjoy much s...

The general election fever is here. Quite a number of familiar faces in the sports scene will be trying their luck for a place in Parliament. They include Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim, who was dropped by Barisan Nasional (BN), and now plans to contest against BN to defend his Arau parliamentary seat. There's also Datuk Seri Megat Zulkarnain Omardin who will be going up against Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari and Datuk Seri Azmin Ali in Gombak. Now imagine if the National Sports Council had an 'election'. Its director-general Datuk Ahmad Shapawi Ismail turned 59 on Sept 28. I've been hearing him say " penat lah " (tired) since Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman was Youth and Sports Minister.  It's not easy being in the hot seat - dealing with four ministers (and their four different agendas) since 2018. Then there's shortage of funds and national associations that remain overly reliant on the government's money via NSC. Regardless if Ahmad Shapawi leaves once a ...

1. Pegawai sukan dan wartawan sukan mempunyai hubungan yang istimewa. Mereka saling memerlukan satu sama lain. 2. Ada yang suka apa yang dilaporkan. Ada pula yang akan melenting. Yang pasti, laporan harus objektif dan mampu memperkasakan lagi industri sukan negara. 3. Dalam tempoh 22 tahun saya berkecimpung dalam industri kewartawanan, ada yang tidak menyukai kritikan saya. Ada pula yang berpendapat dunia kewartawanan serupa dengan perhubungan awam - sepatutnya tulis " cantik-cantik saje ye. " 4. Saya juga pernah disaman. Ada yang gembira sakan apabila saya disaman 11 tahun yang lalu. Namun, hakim membatalkan kes saman malu (defamation) tersebut dan berkata ianya " an abuse of judicial process ".  5. Pernah di Kongres Persatuan Bola Sepak Malaysia (FAM) lebih sedekad yang lalu, presiden FAM Allahyarham Sultan Ahmad Shah berkata kepada saya, "You ah, sometimes hit below the belt. But don't worry, I won't get angry." Ini berikutan hasil tulisan krit...

Kuala Lumpur City FC will play Oman's Al Seeb in the AFC Cup final scheduled tomorow (Oct 22; 7pm) at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil, Kuala Lumpur. The team has come a long way since the city boys hogged the backpages of local dailes in the 80s and 90s, But the city outfit went through troubled times. Eleven years ago, the situation was so bad that a group of fans decided to start a Save KLFA campaign. To me, it was a humiliating moment for the administrators. Today, it's a different Kuala Lumpur football team. Firstly, it's a club (note the change in name) and secondly, it has marked its presence in the region. KL City FC has home advantage. While Al Seeb may be labelled as the favourites, deep down I believe Bojan Hodak's lads could win the title.  All the best to KL City FC and Al Seeb. Here's to a spectacular show. Is KL football finally safe? I would like to see what happens after GE15. This is because we've had individuals from different political af...

"Haresh, meet S.S Dhaliwal. It's like a name of a ship." I was in the midst of typing an article when Johnson Fernandez's voice broke the silence. Standing next to the then Malay Mail sports editor was a tall man clad in a turban. His name: Satwant Singh Dhaliwal. The year was 2001. It was my early days with the daily. The introduction took place when the Malay Mail crew shared the same office space with the New Straits Times - right at the far corner on the fourth floor of Balai Berita in Jalan Riong, Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur. Satwant already had a reputation of sorts prior to joining the newspaper. He was a respected hockey administrator, especially during his days with Yayasan Negeri Sembilan and the Negeri Sembilan state team. As a journalist, he stayed true to his byline: S.S. Dhaliwal - where his articles were similar to that of a large ship that simply cannot be missed. He has made good friends along the way. He also made enemies. As the saying goes, in life, you ...

  Politicians just seem to love sports. MCA president Datuk Seri Wee Ka Siong met ex-badminton stars Datuk Foo Kok Keong and Datuk Cheah Soon Kit at Wisma MCA in Kuala Lumpur yesterday. Wee presented both the former shuttlers a plaque each and congratulated them for receiving their Datukships. Here's what Wee posted on his Facebook page: "Datuk Foo was conferred the Panglima Jasa Negara (PJN) by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong earlier this year. Datuk Cheah received his Datukship, Darjah Panglima Mahkota Wilayah (PMW), in conjunction with the Federal Territory Day celebration last year." One got his Datukship last year, the other earlier this year. Now only want to give a plaque and congratulate? Wee must be a very busy man, eh. I would congratulate somebody almost immediately, and not wait months or over a year just to do so.  I mean if Wee wins his parliamentary seat in GE15, I'm sure he would want to congratulate him almost immediately, and not months or a year later, k...

I wrote about Datuk Seri Ti Lian Ker's move to contest in Kuantan on Sept 23 .  Ti, a lawyer, is MCA's vice-president and enjoys a close relationship with the Pahang royal household. Soon after, I received several phone calls from MCA folks informing me that their ex-president Tan Sri Liow Tiong Lai ( main image ) is eyeing to reclaim the Bentong Parliamentary seat. Liow was the incumbent MP for Bentong since 2008 but lost the seat to DAP’s Wong Tack in the 2018 General Election.  Nevertheless, 'Uncle Liow' seems to still be championing Bentong matters - based on what is reflected on his social media platforms. "But will MCA's top leadership allow Liow to contest in Bentong? Firstly, he lost there when he was president and secondly, certain quarters are afraid that if he wins, it will be seen as his comeback and he may then eye for the presidency post," said a ranking MCA official. Another official said: "Is he there most of his time, or his represent...

  Ah, Pandan Indah. I love heading there for the food. You can get pretty much everything there - nasi lemak, bah kut teh, roti canai, western food, Japanese delights, Thai treats and even Mongolian cuisine. The township hogged the spotlight after High-End Snooker Club, located in Pandan Kapital Mall, graciously offered to host not one, but five world competitions , and one Asian meet. This was reported by Kuala Lumpur news website, Twentytwo13. Yesterday, the Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Faizal Azumu ( main image) decided to drop by. He presented medals to the champion and runners-up of the World 6 Reds Championship. He also presented the Malaysian Snooker and Billiards Federation incentive to national cue artist, Lim Kok Leong for his achievement at the SEA Games in Vietnam. Lim pocketed RM8,000 for the one gold medal (RM5,000) and one silver medal (RM3,000) he won. In return, Ahmad Faizal received a token of appreciation from International Billiards and Snooker Fe...

I met some pals over dinner last night and one of them asked: "Bro, when Parliament gonna bubar. I wanna buy number." Another mate said 10.10, 11.10 or 12.10. "So buy 1010, 1110 and 1210 lah. Got it." I told them I don't know. Because the country is gearing up for an over a RM1 billion 'kenduri' (wedding reception, ie. GE15) but the groom doesn't even know who the bride is. The political parties are still struggling to find their 'jodoh', so it could end up as a wedding for all. I guess that's what "unity" is all about, eh. One thing is for sure - our Yang diPertuan Agong will be swearing in a Prime Minister for the third time (Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin on March 1, 2020 and Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob on Aug 21, 2021).  As such, Al-Sultan Abdullah would have interacted with four Prime Ministers - Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, Muhyiddin, Ismail Sabri and PM10 - during his time in Istana Negara. His tenure as Agong ends in some 400...

I received this press release from Real Chukai Football Club.  Pretty impressed that the Terengganu-based grassroots club has developed a sponsorship prospectus for the 2023 season, ahead of the upcoming Kuala Lumpur Sports Industry Expo 2022. The club will also participate in the expo as an exhibitor.  Such forward-thinking puts some of Real Chukai's more established peers to shame. Here's the full press statement: Real Chukai Football Club (“Real Chukai”) has recently completed the development of its sponsorship prospectus for season 2023. The directors have unanimously approved the sponsorship prospectus, which was developed together with the help of Linda Workroom. Real Chukai Chief Executive Officer, Amirrul Hakim Osman, said: "This is the first step in the process. We are now awaiting the financial audited report for 2022 which will be included within the prospectus." "This, however, is an important step, which will allow Real Chukai to concretely start wor...

Saya hiba melihat tahap kebencian dan dendam kesumat sehinggalah mantan Perdana Menteri terpaksa dirawati di hospital , masih lagi ramai berhati batu. Datuk Seri Ti Lian Ker is getting slammed for his series of "compassionate" tweets towards ex-prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak who is serving his 12-year jail time. His Twitter profile, reads "my tweet is personal and spontaneous .. allow me to make some mistakes ss!" But that doesn't really apply, especially when one is the MCA vice-president and deputy youth and sports minister. So why is Ti even touching on a subject which can prove detrimental to him and his party? All I can think of is Kuantan. Ti has been having quite a number of events in the state capital. They include the Kafe Undi 18 tour kicked off in Kuantan, and he was there.  Ti, had in July , revealed the construction of the new Pahang Youth and Sports complex in Kuantan. He also got his ministry to organise the JomRun x KBS Kuantan Fun Run al...

A friend of mine works for an MNC. She shared how the budget for the following year has been slashed despite spending less than the earlier projected budget this year. The excuse by her regional bosses, "if you could do it with X amount, strive to do it lesser than X amount next year." She strongly believes that those who save money should be incentivised - so that funds can be better spent. I think so too. Sadly, the word "savings" or " penjimatan " is frowned upon even by civil servants, for fear of budget cuts the following year. It's almost like a bad word. This despite the fact that tax payers' will be happy to note that the government and its agencies, are for once, saving money instead of overspending. So I guess, the diplomatic phrase to use is "perbelanjaan berhemah" or "prudent expenditure". Such " perbelanjaan berhemah " is seen in this year's edition of the Malaysia Games that ends tomorrow.  It has ha...

A doping scandal has hit the Malaysian weightlifting scene, yet again. Three weightlifters - two from Terengganu and one from Perlis - tested positive for banned substances ahead of their events in the Malaysia Games (Sukma). This resulted in the Malaysia Weighlifting Federation (MWF) turning its back on the National Sports Council (NSC). In a rather bold, and perhaps unprecedented move, MWF withdrew its officials from Sukma.  MWF president Datuk Ayub Rahmat was quoted by The Star as saying:  "I've stated earlier that we will bar the whole team from competing even if one is tested positive for doping. I've made my intention clear to NSC but they want to carry on with the Sukma programme."  NSC issued a statement earlier this evening, saying:  "Ketetapan pembatalan seluruh pasukan oleh Persatuan Angkat Berat Malaysia itu juga adalah yang pertama seumpamanya di dunia, berbeza dengan peraturan saingan di peringkat antarabangsa yang hanya membatalkan penyertaan at...

Tahniah diucapkan kepada para pemenang Anugerah Persatuan Penulis-penulis Sukan Malaysia (SAM) 2020/ 2021. Majlis berlangsung pagi tadi di Hotel Hilton, Petaling Jaya. Dua kategori baharu - anugerah kewartawanan sukan perpaduan dan foto perpaduan - dipertandingkan. Kepada para pemenang, harap kemenangan anda menjadi penyutik semangat untuk meneruskan usaha memartabatkan lagi industri kewartawanan sukan Malaysia.  Ingat, tugas wartawan bukannya untuk mengejar populariti atau menjadi selebriti tetapi untuk melaporkan kebenaran.  SENARAI PEMENANG ANUGERAH PERPADUAN 100PLUS SAM 2020/2021 1. LAPORAN BERITA TERBAIK (MEDIA CETAK): Mohamad Zulfaizan Mansor (Berita Harian) Tajuk: POTONG GAJI 2. LAPORAN BERITA TERBAIK (MEDIA ELEKTRONIK): Al Shaiful Nazib Talib & Zamri Zainon (TV3) Tajuk: PSIKOLOGI SUKAN 3. ULASAN BERITA TERBAIK (MEDIA CETAK): Mohd Firdaus Mohd Hashim (Harian Metro) Tajuk: AMD SUDAH ADA PENAJA 4. ULASAN SUKAN TERBAIK (MEDIA ELEKTRONIK): Mohd Fauzi Mohd Marzauki &...

Right after Twentytwo13 published this article , I received a message from a reader who also happens to follow Foul! closely. "They always have these (things) but nothing moves ..." Can I blame the sender for saying so? We have heard of many attempts to take the sports industry in Malaysia seriously. Despite the very many initiatives and activities, the government is not expected to increase the budget for the Youth and Sports Ministry. The government, in Budget 2021, allocated RM940 million to the ministry and the allocation was slashed to RM289 million in Budget 2022. Budget 2023 is expected to be an election budget - promising a whole lot of "goodies". Where will this leave those in the sports industry? Given the large amounts of funds spent battling Covid-19 over the past two years, subsidies, and targeted financial assistance, it is highly unlikely sports will be given much thought. Funds will be needed to prepare our athletes for the 2023 SEA Games in Cambodia...

  The Sports Industry Secretariat, a body under the Youth and Sports Ministry, will host the Sports Industry Expo on Oct 6-9 at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil, Kuala Lumpur. The sports industry in Malaysia has been finally getting the attention it deserves despite conversations about it decades ago. In 2017, the Malaysian sports industry generated RM18.8 billion. According to the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM), the same year saw 36,511 people employed in the industry, with wages amounting to RM876 million. Twentytwo13, a Kuala Lumpur-based news website, had reported in June that a sports industry exposition is set to be held in conjunction with the National Sports Day in October. The article revealed: The idea (of the expo) is to further promote the sports industry to the masses. The main objective is to spark interest and to obtain the buy-in of the people. For the longest time ever, sports in Malaysia have always been elite-centric, turning most Malaysians into fa...

To reveal the world’s most searched teams, the television and broadband experts at Uswitch analysed Google search data to discover which football teams people are Googling the most in (almost) every country around the world. Manchester United is the most searched club in Japan, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Malaysia.  It may come as no surprise that the club is among the most popular in Asia, as “the Red Devils” have had some great moments in recent times and even won two Fifa tournaments in Japan, attracting the attention of many fans in Asia. Real Madrid is the most popular football team in the world when each country’s local teams aren’t included. The research shows it is the most searched foreign football team in an impressive 75 countries, the most of any football team, including the United Arab Emirates, Israel, Sweden and Austria. Click on the link to read the full report.

That was a tweet by Malaysia's diving star Datuk Pandelela Rinong. As I wrote last month (June 22, 2022), Pandelela, Datuk Leong Mun Yee, and Nur Dhabitah Sabri are world-class women divers, who are Olympians and household names in Malaysia. Yet, states are struggling to field divers, especially in the women’s event, for the upcoming Malaysia Games (Sukma) The Sukma, scheduled to begin on Malaysia Day (Sept 16), will be held in various locations in the Klang Valley. It is organised by the National Sports Council (NSC). It is learnt that there is also a lack of participation in the women’s gymnastics events. It boils down to the lack of facilities, proper support system and bragging rights. Read the full article on Kuala Lumpur-based news website, Twentytwo13.

1. Saya telah berkecimpung dalam dunia kewartawanan sejak tahun 2000. Saya bermula sebagai seorang wartawan sukan.  2. Ramai yang telah saya temuramah sepanjang karier saya. Saya pernah minum kopi bersama pemandu teksi, lepak sama Pak Guard, berborak pasal PS2 dengan pemain tennis terkemuka Rafael Nadal, duduk sebelah bekas pemandu F1 Mika Hakkinen dalam Mercedes AMG SLS yang dipandunya, serta duduk semeja dengan tokoh korporat dan menteri dari dalam dan luar negara. 3. Saya juga mempunyai blog. Ada yang meninggalkan komen di blog, apa pula yang emel. Ada pula yang DM saya di laman media sosial saya. Sesetangah komen-komen tersebut agak pedas, tetapi sebagai 'Anon' atau menggunakan akaun "private". Saya hanya gelak kerana mereka ini pandai komen but tak berani nak letak nama sebenar. Tetapi saya tidak pernah tergerak untuk membuat tanda pagar (hashtag) bagi individu-individu sebegini. 4. Ada pula atlet dan pegawai yang tidak berpuas hati dengan hasil penulisan atau ko...

  I think sports facilities in the country should be graded. It's only fair to the users / consumers. I've seen poorly maintained sports facilities - both government- and privately-owned. Patrons should not pay ridiculous fees for substandard facilities. Period. So when I was informed of plans to grade sporting facilities in Malaysia, I was obviously excited. On July 5, I wrote that discussions are being held over the possibility of grading sporting facilities in Malaysia. This is similar to the evaluation and grading of food premises by local councils, nationwide. Following the article, venue operators and owners told news website Twentytwo13 that having a set of evaluation and grading criteria for sports centres in Malaysia is certainly the way forward. But they had their concerns too. “Ultimately, the elephant in the room is deciding who will be in charge of the grading process, and how it will benefit the community.” -  National Sports & Fitness Venue Owners and Oper...

The world swimming body has taken a bold decision to restrict transgender athletes in elite women's swimming. The decision was made after Fina revealed it had sufficient evidence to back its decision, adding male swimmers as young as 14 were posting times that would win the Olympic gold medal in the women's events.  Fina will instead create an 'open category' for transgender swimmers to compete in. The president of the world body, Husain Al-Musallam was quoted as saying in his address at the Budapest congress : "I do not want any athlete to be told they cannot compete at the highest level. I understand why transgender athletes want to compete in the gender of their choice ... but we should not favour one athlete over another." “We will be the first international federation to start this work.”  Caitlyn Jenner, a transgender who was once known as Olympic gold medallist Bruce Jenner, supported the move .  "I think it's very good. I have been on this is...

Lee Hup Wei had recently retired as a national athlete. As he turns 35 today, he decided to be the voice of athletes in the national athletics scene, as he takes issue with the debacle involving the Selangor Athletics Association and the Sports Commissioner's Office. Here's his plea , as posted on his Facebook account, minutes ago: "Lebih kurang satu minggu lagi, Sukan Sea Hanoi akan bermula. Sukan Sea amat bermakna untuk saya kerana saya sudah mewakili negara di dalam kejohanan itu sejak 2005 di Manila dan membawa pulang 4 pingat emas. Tahun ini saya tidak mengambil bahagian. Banyak rakan-rakan atlet dan jurulatih yang menghubungi saya. Mereka kecewa kerana tidak dapat mewakili negara dalam Sukan Sea Hanoi. Mereka tidak dipilih bukan kerana tidak layak tetapi atas faktor-faktor dalaman persatuan sukan. Sebagai senior dalam bidang olahraga, saya perlu bersuara bagi pihak semua atlet. Sepanjang 18 tahun sebagai atlet olahraga, konflik dalaman persatuan sukan selalu berlaku....

Klang residents want to explore the possibility of a law suit against the Malaysian government for dereliction of duty during the December floods.  This is one of the calls at the seminar 'The Impact of Climate Change on Coastal Areas Like Klang' held at Wyndham Acmar Klang hotel yesterday. Klang MP Charles Santiago said Selangor has a responsibility to protect and promote the rights and interests of its citizens.  "However, during the floods, there was hardly an early warning system or efficient flood relief efforts to help vulnerable individuals and communities," said Santiago. "In fact, government officials were missing in the first three to four days, and people took it upon themselves to organise food distributions and rescue missions." The participants, during floor discussions, also raised the possibility of the formulation of a new drainage and irrigation system for Klang.  This would involve interphasing the movement of water through rivers.  "...

Datuk Seri Anifah Aman ( pic ) weighs in on the recent claims regarding by the heir of the so-called Sulu Sultanate on Sabah. In his statement tonight, the former Malaysian Foreign Minister, shares the historical background of the episode.  He goes on to blame the Sabah Caretaker Chief Minister’s at the time as being "lack of experience" in handling the matter and adds that ex-Attorney General Tan Sri Tommy Thomas should "learn the language of diplomatic relations and how to handle international relations to avoid further blunders in future with regards to Malaysia's sovereignty".  Here is Anifah's statement, in full: Historical background • Sabah, which was known as North Borneo, before it joined the Malaysian Federation in 1963, was part of the Sultanate of Brunei in the 15th century. In 1704, the Sultan of Brunei ceded the lands east of Marudu Bay to the Sultan of Sulu, while the west coast remained under his rule. • On Jan 22, 1878, the Paduca Majasa...