Foul!

As published in Malay Mail today.  GOING NUTS By Graig Nunis ON April 8, news broke that Malaysia would host the next three World Championships for women’s squash starting from December. It was a big deal with local newspapers highlighting the fact eight-time world champion Datuk Nicol David would have three opportunities to finally win a world title on home ground after failing to do so in March 2014 (this was for the 2013 World Championship which was postponed after prospective hosts Hong Kong and Egypt had their bids rejected). The 2014 event was in Cairo, Egypt in December where David won her record-extending eighth world crown. However, in August of that year, Hallmark Events Group was awarded the rights to three consecutive world title events with a guaranteed prize-fund in excess of US$500,000 (RM2.1 million). Between August and April Hallmark was “negotiating” with prospective hosts before revealing Malaysia had won the right to host the World Champi...

As published in Mailsport on Dec 6 Comment by Graig Nunis gnunis@mmail.com.my PETALING JAYA — The old saying “it is all fun and games until someone gets hurt” holds true for the Women’s World Squash Championship. The attempt by Hallmark Events Group to “blackmail” the sports ministry into giving them RM3.5 million for “security arrangements” is a prime example of how badly we need a strong sports commissioner to uphold the Sports Development Act 1997. Hallmark cited security reasons for postponing the Dec 11-18 tournament but in an email reply to Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin, they had admitted they do not have enough funding. Khairy said the organisers told him: “We can still organise this next week if you give us RM3.5 million for private security arrangements.” Khairy rightly shut them up, saying: “I don’t appreciate being blackmailed, especially after they had used security as an excuse and painted Malaysia in bad light when they admitted they had decided to pos...

As published in Malay Mail today Going Nuts By Graig Nunis   MERDEKA is just over a month away and Malaysia Day a further 16 days down the road. To most Malaysians Aug 31 is the bigger celebration and it was only since 2010 that Malaysia Day became a public holiday — even though this is when we truly became the nation we are today following the inclusion of Sabah and Sarawak. Shouldn’t we be celebrating this on a grander scale? So it is not hard to sympathise with the organisers of the Sarawak Freedom and Independent Walk on July 22 who are pressing for the state to make that date a public holiday to celebrate the day Sarawak was granted independence by the British colonial rulers in 1963. However, as usually is the case when it involves east Malaysians, many have jumped on the bandwagon and there were reports some wanted to misuse the event to talk about Sarawak seceding from Malaysia. And as usual, the police, led by IGP Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar, hav...

As published in Malay Mail today Going Nuts By Graig Nunis I HATE driving. My sense of direction is akin to Ed Miliband’s political career and I usually end up far from where I want to be. Using Waze, Google Maps and other Global Positioning System (GPS) devices are of no help. So much so, friends have taken to calling me GPS … Guna Pun Sesat or Graig Pasti Sesat. As such, I usually leave an hour earlier than most would, to factor in the time wasted by going round in circles. Colleagues have wondered how I made my way to and from assignments during my reporting days — answer: public transport or tumpang photographers and reporters from other media outlets. Unlike the now infamous Zahra, I am not too proud to take the bus or train, or a combination of both. Why drive when you can get someone to bring you where you want to be without the hassle of traffic jams and finding a decent (read: cheap) parking spot in Kuala Lumpur? If given the choice, I w...

As published in Malay Mail today Going Nuts By Graig Nunis FREEDOM of speech and freedom of expression are two wonderful gifts we should cherish, nurture and encourage. The freedom to say what we want, however, does not give one the right to break the law and this applies across the board. One must also be able to receive as well as one gives. No one, and this applies to politicians, royalty and other high and mighty types, should beat down the masses or deny them the right of answer. If a prince wants to speak out against the prime minister for something he perceives to be wrong, so be it. What harm is there? As long as it is not libellous, he should be allowed to say his piece. After all, other royal houses in Malaysia have thrown their support behind the ruling party on many occasions. There should not be double standards or rules on who they can or cannot support.  Similarly, if a minister wants to defend his boss, he should be allowed to do...

Here are two views about the subject. One is by veteran sports journalist Tony Mariadass while the other is by Malay Mail sports editor Graig Nunis. What are your views? Search in our own backyard By Tony Mariadass (March 23, 2015) IT is unimaginable national football coach Dollah Salleh — having come from an era of talented home grown players — is keen on naturalised players.  During Dollah’s time, he had Johor teammates such as goalkeepers Salleh Noor and Hassan Miskam and midfielders Khalid Shahdan, Nasir Yusof and Sazali Naseer alongside him in the national team. He also had for company players like Zainal Abidin Hassan, Salim Mahmud, Serbegeth Singh, K. Gunalan, See Kim Seng, Chow Siew Yai, Lee Kin Hong, S. Silvarajoo, K. Ravichandran, Ahmad Yusof, Azizol Abu Haniffah, S. Balachandran, A. Anbalagan, P. Somasundram and P. Ravindran to name a few.  For him to say the current players do not have the right mentality, are not matured, lack phys...

As published in Mailsport today MICK JAGGER and the Rolling Stones once sang  You can’t always get what you want . This is so true in life and especially so in sports. Most people want a better life, higher pay (without actually doing any work), bigger house, luxury car or big bike, prettier spouse, and to be healthier and slimmer without having to work out or watch what they eat. They feel the world owes them a living and if they don't get what they want, they rant, rave and rage on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and other social media platforms. Well,  You can't always get what you want . Similarly, sports fans want their favourite player or players to remain with their club forever (please don't go Stevie G), their team to win all the titles they contest and their archrivals to suffer demotion, shame and shock defeats. They will proclaim their team, manager and players as paragons of virtue, who never cheat, dive, pull shirts or use underhand ...

Going Nuts, by Graig Nunis - as published in Mailsport today A WEEK ago an old colleague brought a copy of the  New Straits Times  (NST) to the office. Nothing strange about that except it was dated July 9, 1996 and back then,  Malay Mail  was under the NSTP group. Ian Pereira, 73, who last month was inducted into Olympic Council of Malaysia's (OCM) Hall of Fame thought it would be a good idea for the younger journalists to see what a newspaper looked like nearly 20 years ago. What caught the eye was the back page picture which featured a streaker (her bottom blacked out and front partially facing away from the camera) running across the pristine Wimbledon grass courts. Nowadays, we might get in trouble if we show a little cleavage or belly button while recently NST even pixelated armpit hair! Hugging is apparently OK – but not if done by K-pop stars! How times have changed. Well, not everything. Take the BA of Malaysia (BAM) for exampl...

Going Nuts by Graig Nunis, as published in Mailsport today ONE of American author Irving Washington’s most popular stories is Rip Van  Winkle . The protagonist is a hen-pecked husband who one day wanders into the mountains to go hunting, meets and drinks with the ghost of English explorer Henry Hudson’s crew, and falls into a deep sleep. He wakes up 20 years later to find everything has changed as he had slept through the American Revolution, his village changed so much he hardly recognises it, his wife dead and his children grown up. Washington’s other famous tale is The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and both are  included in The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent . The most famous character in Sleepy Hollow is the Headless Horseman, a  Hessian Soldier who had his head shot off by a cannonball in an American Revolution battle. Those who subscribe to Astro would probably have watched a retelling of this story. Malaysia Stadium Corporation (M...

Going Nuts by Graig Nunis, as published in Mailsport today. ONE of The Beatles’ most famous songs is All you need is love . In these trying times with another Malaysian affiliated plane mishap and over 200,000 people affected by the worst floods in living memory, we can all do with a little bit of love. Watching and reading how Malaysians from all walks of life Come together to help flood victims have restored faith we can indeed live up to the 1Malaysia slogan — hopefully we don’t need another tragedy to make us realise this. Another unifying force is sports. Remember how we all cheered for the national teams during the Thomas Cup final and more recently the AFF Cup? Yet, there are many individuals who strive to take advantage of sports. Here are some wishes for the year ahead and beyond which hopefully can help stop them. Keep race and politics out of sports It is disheartening there are still some idiots who use the race card. One such person who do...

Going Nuts by Graig Nunis as published in Mailsport JOHN ROBERT COCKER or better known as Joe Cocker passed away on Monday after a long battle with lung cancer. Probably the only singer who could make a Beatles song better – as blasphemous as that sounds – his rendition of With a little help from my friends did receive the thumbs-up from the Fab Four. For those growing up in the late 1980s and early 1990s, the song was synonymous with the wonderful television series The Wonder Years. Who could forget the bittersweet moments from the series as Kevin Arnold chased after Winnie Cooper but sadly, after coming so close, never got her in the end – a bit like Malaysia’s quest to win the AFF Cup on Saturday. Three goals up with nine minutes left, Harimau Malaya’s world collapsed when two Thai goals handed the War Elephants the trophy 4-3 on aggregate. You could just imagine Cocker’s other megahit You are so beautiful playing in the background as the Malaysian players collaps...

Going Nuts by Graig Nunis, as published in Mailsport today. SOME Malaysians are going ga-ga over Astro’s new Hits channel which replays popular shows from the 1980s with many enjoying the campy, crappy, over-the-top and just plain silly The A-Team. The show is about a group of former American Special Forces who help the downtrodden and the oppressed (while eluding the long arm — or in this case, short arm of the law). Throughout the show’s four seasons, the heroes fired thousands of rounds of bullets without killing anyone — a little like Liverpool’s strikers who as the old joke goes, wouldn’t be able to score in a brothel! Campy, crappy, over-the-top and just plain silly could also best describe FA of Malaysia (FAM). Just when you thought things could not get any worse after the Malaysia Cup fiasco when the biggest local football match had to share the vicinity of the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil with a Buddhist prayer event and a Sarawak carnival — making life...

Going Nuts as published in Mailsport today WRESTLING was once described by respected English journalist James Lawton as finely orchestrated fake violence — with real injuries. He forgot to mention the compelling drama, brilliant scripts and formidable actors aka the wrestlers who make docile grandmothers scream and spit at their television sets while watching the “action” unfold. Wrestlers can be the face (good guys) one day and heel (bad guys) the next and there doesn’t have to be a reason why one switches from one character to another. Similarly, Azmin Ali was seen as a “heel” when he took over from Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim as Selangor menteri besar two months ago. Since then, however, the 50-year-old Gombak MP has gone on a charm offensive in a bid to become a “face”. His recent move to give the state’s 12 opposition MPs RM200,000 each to use for their constituency plus a Toyota Camry worth RM200,000 to opposition leader Datuk Mohd Shamsudin Lias including...