Foul!

On Jan 6, MCA Youth tweeted the graphic above. It caught my attention and I made some phone calls to some friends in MCA, eager to find out if MCA Youth is well aware that MCA vice president Datuk Seri Ti Lian Ker is the deputy president of the Youth and Sports Ministry. Below is what I tweeted minutes ago: Find it odd for @MCAHQ Youth to issue such a statement when MCA vice president @tilianker is @KBSMalaysia deputy minister. A phone call to their boss would have clarified the matter. Why don't MCA Youth ask PM why there's RM10m for FA of Malaysia and not for other athletes? https://t.co/7mYdp6yfll — Haresh Deol 🇲🇾 ‏ (@HareshDeol) January 23, 2022 In one of the those phone calls to my friends in MCA, I was informed by a senior member: "MCA Youth is always eager to find ways to stay relevant but they seem to be lost in their own world." Here's a pointer MCA Youth, it's best to check when you already have someone within your organisation who is part of th...

  There have been plenty of conversations about our national shuttlers going independent. There are those who don't see it as a problem. There are others who seem disturbed by it. But many of them seem to ignore the visions, missions and objectives of the BA of Malaysia (BAM). The image above, a screenshot from BAM's website , shows the objectives. Note: It does not read "owning players". The image below shows BAM's vision and mission. The mission states to have a big pool of world class players, bigger pool of back-up players and to implement development programmes. Once again, it does not say "to own players". As such, it comes to no surprise to why BAM has accommodated independent players as the leadership is simply keeping true to the national body's visions, missions and objectives. This is also reflected in the July 14, 2021 press statement below: And the statement by its president pubslihed in The Star  on July 24, 2021: BAM president Tan Sri ...

The National Sports Council (NSC) issued a clarification yesterday regarding several matters raised by national squash player Low Wee Wern ( pic ). Low was dropped from NSC's training programme due to budget cuts. For the record, the NSC is the funding arm of the Youth and Sports Ministry.  The Penangite made it clear that the procedure (in axing athletes) should have been done better. In case it is not clear, I am not talking about money or budget cuts. All I am saying is that the procedure of how it was done should have been better https://t.co/LoEhYluk5b — Wee Wern Low (@WeeWernLow) January 6, 2022 Below is the January 11 statement by NSC: National Sports Council (NSC) would like to clarify on few points raised by our national squash player,  Low Wee Wern, with regards to the issue of no new training contract offered to her for the 2022 season. Wee Wern’s contract as an athlete under the Podium Program ended on Dec 31, 2021, as with all the other athletes that were under t...

THE Malaysian Basketball Association (Maba) have big dreams under their new president, Datuk Lee Tian Hock. Not only are they targeting a Sea Games gold medal within six years, Maba are also going the FA of Malaysia's way by naturalising players in the hope of attaining success. Read the New Straits Times for the full report. It's good to have dreams. What is equally important is for the dreams to turn into reality. The bullish plans announced by Maba yesterday, however, raises two pertinent question: i. If they don't get the Sea Games gold medal in the next six years - will the new president and office bearers be held accountable? ii. Will Maba get the right naturalised players?  The FA of Malaysia's naturalisation recipe didn't quite work.  Also, the government must have a stricter vetting system in place when naturalising individuals who don the national jersey. There are many other individuals - born and bred in Malaysia - who are still waiting for their citize...

1. When national hurdler Rayzam Shah Wan Sofian was quoted by Utusan Malaysia regarding the reduction in his allowance from RM2,000 (for gold medalist) to RM800 (for bronze medalist), I immediately reached out to him. He confirmed having said all that and stood by what he said. He also shared other details. 2.  Olympians, athletes, former Youth and Sports minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Shabery Cheek and former Youth and Sports deputy minister Steven Sim weighed in. In a nutshell, they hope the national athletes will be given the right amount of assistance.  3. The episode also turned political.   "Pemuda MCA berpendirian bahawa isu ini boleh diuruskan dengan lebih baik oleh pihak @MSNMALAYSIA , dan atlet-atlet ini wajar diberikan pembelaan sewajarnya." - Chua Hock Kuan ( @chuaLbhPantai ) Selanjutnya: https://t.co/6w22L0Ak3y pic.twitter.com/emMuAHKg3y — MCA (@MCAHQ) January 6, 2022 The tweet above raised eyebrows as the deputy youth and sports minister Datuk Seri Ti L...

Clearly frustrated over the Malaysian sports scene, especially football, an Olympian has revisited his suggestion that those intending to hold office in a sports organisation must fulfill a certain criteria. Former hockey international Maninderjit Singh, aka Mike, said the current practice sees an office bearer nominated before being elected in a national sports association (NSA),  "I suggest that an additional process - vetting  - be introduced before one is nominated," said Maninderjit this morning. "As an example, to be a president (of an NSA), one has played in the Malaysian Football League for five seasons, served at least five years at the state level, raised at least RM3 million of sponsorship at the state level, developed two or three national players and that the state obtained an A rating from the Sports Commissioner's Office. "The nomination will be automatically rejected if one does not fulfill the criteria set. "With that (criteria set), the el...