Foul!

As published in Mailsport today  Loon Hong in this picture posted by a fan on Facebook. By Haresh Deol haresh@mmail.com.my PETALING JAYA — It is a bleak Chinese New Year for the snooker fraternity after legendary billiards maestro Moh Loon Hong passed away yesterday. Loon Hong suffered from cancer of the bladder and passed on at 4.33am at Unversiti Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC). He was 63. The Penangnite was a hit on the green carpet, having won two SEA Games gold medals in the 1991 Manila Games and 1995 Chiang Mai Games. He clinched the bronze at the 1993 Singapore Games. Snooker runs in the blood of the family as his son Keen Ho also excelled in the sport, having won the Asian Junior Championship in 2003 and winning the SEA Games gold medal in Korat in 2007. His daughter Chaw Teng plays pool for the country. Loon Hong was supposed to play alongside Keen Ho in the upcoming Kuala Lumpur SEA Games. “It’s a loss ... I’m lost for words,” said Keen Ho. ...

MSBF president Melvin Chua had this to say: “Snooker is huge in China because of Ding (Junhui). Snooker was once very popular in Malaysia because of Chong. “Like football, if the winning stops, the popularity stops. It is the same with badminton and squash. That is why the development cannot stop.” All the best to the crew — Thor Chuan Leong, Moh Keen Ho, Suhana Dewi Sabtu, Ibrahim Amir, Alan Tan and Klaudia Djajalie in Myanmar. Hopefully our snooker players will be remembered more often instead of just during the Sea Games. Read more of Haresh Says The Malay Mail today. HD says : Well done Chuan Leong!

The Sports Commissioner's office has finally spoken regarding the Malaysian Snooker and Billiards Federation (MSBF); form an ad-hoc committee it says. However, rumours around the green baize has it that certain individuals insist they do not need to conform or join such an ad-hoc committee for they are the rightful guardian of the sport in the country. Thus it will be interesting to see who will show up when the newly formed committee headed by Malaysian Tenpin Bowling Congress deputy president and former KLFA official Mohammad Noor Abdul Rahim meet for the first time next week. For the record, MSBF was suspended on July 19 while the snooker players have not enjoyed centralised training for years. The training center at Casa 1 in Bukit Jalil has not been utilised either. Most of our cue artists including former Asian junior champion Moh Keen Ho, Thor Chuan Leong and Lai Chee Wei are working in snooker centers but remain regular fixtures in the local tournaments. Chuan L...

If it is let's say athletics, especially concerning the Malaysian Athletic Union, you get a whole lot of people jumping on the bandwagon and making a lot of noise. But when it comes to the Malaysian Snooker and Billiards Federation - not a single squeak. Yet, you get high ranking officials hugging and shedding tears when our cue artists win a gold medal. I was at the 2007 Korat Sea Games when Moh Keen Ho won the 64th gold medal for the nation. I saw the 'love' showered upon Keen Hoo there. Today MSBF is still in a messed up situation - so messed up that even the players are unsure what their counterparts are doing. Most are working in snooker centers. Others have left the scene completely. And yet we get a bunch of snooker pretenders - who don't even know which coloured ball is supposed to be potted in first - writing slanderous letters and addressing the letters to even the Sports Minister. The next time an official hugs a snooker player, I suggest that snooker player ...

There's Team A headed by Melvin Chia. Then there's Team B that features Prof WY Chin. Both are at loggerheads and it's been more than eight months. End result? Former Asian Junior champion and 2007 Korat Sea Games gold medalist Moh Keen Ho ( pic ) may not see action at the upcoming Sea Games in Indonesia. Keen Ho said he has given up playing for the country. He's been busy with work. But we know in snooker those who quit return to the green baize. But if WY Chin is still around, then I doubt Keen Ho will ever represent Malaysia. The Olympic Council of Malaysia seem to favour WY Chin's pursuit. The Sports Commissioner's Office acknowledges Melvin and Co as the executive board members. Now there could be an arbitration before the closing date for the Sea Games next month. Read more in today's Mailsport . HD says: Your egos are causing the sport to suffer. Bah!