Foul!

On June 29, 2011 I had written the frontpage article ' Paralimpics RM4 million poser ' in The Malay Mail. The article was also featured on Malaysia Today . Almost one year ahead and there is still no sign of the staggering RM4 million "investment" by the Malaysian Paralympic Council (MPC). And the members are getting agitated. The investment was made to an events management company - Paralimpik Ventures Sdn Bhd. Checks revealed the MPC president and his sons are listed as directors of the company. Below is the contents of a letter sent by the Malaysian Blind Sports Association (MBSA) to MPC on April 19, 2012; Bayaran Balik Dari Paralympik Ventures Sdn Bhd Kepada MPM Persatuan Sukan Orang Buta Malaysia (MBSA) iaitu salah satu Ahli Majlis kepada Majlis Paralimpik Malaysia (MPM) ingin bertanya kepada tuan selaku Bendahari MPM sama ada Syarikat Paralimpik Ventures Sdn Bhd telah membayar balik RM2 juta serta 5% faedah bagi 4 tahun kepada MPM. Saya difahamkan b...

Jangan terkejut jika pasukan bolasepak Filipina memenangi Piala AFF yang akan berlangsung akhir tahun ini. Cuba kita imbas kembali Piala AFF edisi 2010 - pasukan Filipina kalah 1-0 kepada Indonesia dalam kedua-dua perlawanan separuh akhir mereka di Jakarta. Walaupun masih ada masa untuk pasukan tradisi seperti Thailand, Indonesia serta Malaysia dan Singapura untuk terus mendominasi pertandingan tersebut, janganlah kita terlalu mengharapkan menang besar apabila Malaysia bermain Filipina di dalam satu perlawanan persahabatan di Stadium Shah Alam Jumaat ini. Jurulatih kebangsaan K.Rajagobal sendiri mengakui Filipina bukan calang-calang lawan dan sudahpun menytakan bahawa pasukan Azkals mempunyai peluang cerah untuk menang Piala AFF tahun ini. Beliau memberitahu akhbar NST ; "I believe they will be stronger than their 2010 squad in the AFF Cup. They are a different team with better players." Ramai pemain Filipian beraksi dengan liga Eropah. Mereka termasuk Stephen Sc...

Apparently the Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) has plans to contribute to the Sports Ministry's Sports Industry campaign. Not to earn brownie points - or so I've been told - but OCM would like to see more individuals and companies set up business entities that will double up as clubs especially for athletics in the country. OCM hopes; 1. With a business approach, this would interest more people to initiate such clubs where such clubs will not be overly dependent on funding from government but from members instead. 2. While there are many taekwondo and futsal academies in the country, OCM hopes to see more establishment catering for fencing and athletics to help cultivate the sporting culture at the grassroots, provide a form of guidance to those who leave school and widen the pool of talents. Such establishments will be registered as companies and therefore will not fall under the ambit of the Sports Commissioner's Office. It can be a sole proprietor or a busine...

TERKINI 6.55pm: Ini kata-kata seorang pemain Liga-Super setelah membaca artikel ini; "Bro susah with these guys...last time want to get them to join PFA when they were active pon susah. The older players understand but the younger generation all don't give a crap" Ini pula kata-kata seorang lagi pemain; "Abang, memang confirm ada player yang dipaksa sign contract keluar team. Kalau tak sign, org FA buat hal. Nak bagitau siapa?" ------ Perit untuk mendengar kan? Tetapi itulah hakikatnya. Kenapa pemain-pemain kita masih dibelenggu masalah gaji dan dibuang tanpa sebarang alasan kukuh? Siapakah yang menjaga kepentingan mereka? Mana perginya Professional Footballers Association ( PFA ) yang ditubuhkan 2010 ? Ramai pemain yang masih menunggu Jawatankuasa Status Persatuan Bolasepak Malaysia bermesyuarat untuk meneliti aduan mereka. Ada pemain yang masih belum dibayar oleh persatuan untuk dua dan tiga musim. Ada pula disuruh tandatangan "mut...

Situation 1: Lebanese footballer Mohamed Ghaddar has become a web sensation for all the wrong reasons after producing a comically inept piece of 'skill' in a Malaysian league game. Faced with an opponent on the left flank, Kelantan FA striker Gheddar attempts a flurry of stepovers supposed to evoke the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar - but he ends up looking more like a tipsy line dancer. That was taken from Yahoo UK's (Eurosport) website . The video on YouTube has more than 3 million hits since it was uploaded on May 22, 2012. Situation 2: Meanwhile, in a regrettable development, the Media officer, Satwant Dhaliwal, has quit consequent an altercation with a Malaysian coach over seating in the media box. The coach insisted on sitting in the reserved media area citing the chairs were unoccupied. Finding the official response indifferent to his complaint, Mr. Dhaliwal stepped down. With some tact the incident could have been a...

Can you spot the difference between the Malaysian and South Korean jerseys  donned by the hockey players that played in the on-going Sultan Azlan Shah Cup in Ipoh? I can see the South Korean flag but I'm finding a tough time searching for the Jalur Gemilang (Malaysian flag) on the Malaysian jersey. Can someone please point it out? Or there isn't to begin with. It may sound petty to some...or is it? HD says: Hmm....

Those in the scene are eager to find out about Dany Bahar's ( pic ) suspension. Perhaps this article 'Group Lotus boss Dany Bahar suspended' from UK's the Evening News 24 can clear the air; “As a result of a number of media inquiries, Group Lotus plc (“Lotus”) can today confirm that, following an operational review, chief executive Dany Bahar has been temporarily suspended from his role to facilitate an investigation into a complaint about his conduct made by Lotus’ penultimate parent company, DRB-HICOM Berhad. ” Just three days ago Dany was quoted by Top Gear's Ollie Marriage as saying; "Dato’ Sri Haji Mohd Khamil Bin Jamil, Proton's new Chairman, visited Hethel on Wednesday 2nd May and reassured the management team and staff representatives that DRB-HICOM is not thinking about a sale of Lotus right now . He also made it clear that a sale still could be an opportunity, but it is not DRB-HICOM’s priority to consider this right now for Lotus. T...

UPDATE May 26 (9.25am): Singapore's The New Paper talks about 'Paul', 'John' and four nabbed for attempt to fix LionsXII match. Not two but three Malaysians are apparently involved. Read the article here . ------- When former Fifa head of security Chris Eaton was in Kuala Lumpur last year, the FA of Malaysia (FAM) got him to say no official was involved in the Malaysia-Zimbabwe friendly matches fiasco. Then when Eaton was reported to have said Malaysian officials were involved by the Singaporean Media, again FAM tried to play it down. To show that they are committed in their crime against match-fixing, FAM set up a Coordination and Investigation Unit headed by former police officer Osman Bakar. So what support Osman has been receiving to play his role effectively? He is no longer a cop and is in no position to investigate such matters. How many players or officials have been arrested or charged since the setting up of the unit? The NST had today repo...

PERSATUAN BOLASEPAK MALAYSIA                                        SIARAN MEDIA 24 M EI 201 2 FAM TERUS PERANGI RASUAH BOLASEPAK Persatuan Bolasepak Malaysia (FAM) mengucapkan tahniah kepada CPIB atas tindakan tegas badan berkena a n Singapura itu yang berjaya menahan dan seterusnya mendakwa pihak-pihak yang disyaki terlibat dalam gejala mengatur perlawanan dalam satu Liga Super 2012 , Selasa lalu . FAM maklumkan oleh Persatuan Bolasepak Singapura (FAS) beberapa orang ind i vidu, termasuk seorang pengadil Malaysia, telah dihadapkan kepada mahkamah atas bersubahat untuk mengatur satu perlawanan tersebut.   FAM sentiasa memandang berat perbuatan rasuah bolasepak ini dan telahpun mengambil initiatif bagi memerangi gelaja ini dan akan  memberikan kerjasama dengan pihak-pihak terlibat di Singapura, melalui agensi-agensi di neg...

What Chong Wei's injury did, however, was put into perspective just how overly dependent BAM and, for that matter, Malaysia have become on the World No 1. Numerous warnings were issued that BAM, in depending totally on just one player, was in imminent danger but they went unheeded. BAM president Datuk Seri Nadzmi Salleh yesterday said what fans have known for a long time now -- Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong's partnership is in its last legs but, sadly other than Chong Wei, the pair are Malaysian badminton's highest profile players. These paragraphs were taken from NST's Sports Editor Vijesh Rai's article today. The Media and fans have been talking about the same issues for far too long. Vijesh has, in the past written about this, and has once again summed about the feelings of the other stakeholders.   So where do we go from here?    HD says: Time to walk the talk...

UPDATE (May 23, 2012: 12.06pm): Dilema JKR, 'dua' ketua pengarah - this was brought to my attention. Read here for more. ----- I first wrote about the effort to remove National Sports Institute director general Dr Ramlan Aziz in March - as seen here . Then I wrote about the same subject again early May . I was invited to be a guest for this week's Kafe Sukan but had to decline as the recording was done on Sunday - the same day I left the country. Apparently Ramlan's predicament was discussed. Despite receiving numerous SMS-es - for and against what was discussed - I will refrain from commenting as I have yet to view the show. I have also been told there are efforts to get certain people to replace Ramlan. To me that is secondary. I have still not obtained the answers to these questions; 1. According to the NSI Act, only the minister can hire or fire the director general. Has the minister issued such a directive? 2. According to the country's Lab...

We've had a long tradition of players playing abroad. Goalkeeper Chow Chee Keong started playing in Hong Kong in the late 60s. He earned the nickname Asian Stainless Steel Gate and Crazy Sword. Lim Teong Kim played for German club Hertha BSC Berlin in the late 80s. He is now the assistant coach of the Bayern Munich Under-19 team. We had the likes of Akmal Rizal Rakhli who played in France, Stanley Bernard Samuel who played in India and Safee Sali - who has made millions from wages and endorsement while playing in Indonesia. Last week Tam Sheang Tsung become the first player below 20 to be promoted to the first team of Shanghai Shenhua Football Club. The latest to join the cast of players enjoying contracts abroad is youngster Nazmi Faiz Mansor . Nazmi has successfully secured a three-year contract with Portuguese top flight football club Beira-Mar. It has certainly got many people excited- from those retweeting the news on Twitter, some even did not credit the source...

Through a mutual friend, Malaysian Athletics Federation deputy president Karim Ibrahim and I were suppose to meet over a cup of coffee. Karim did send me an SMS, telling me he has to attend to an ailing family member and will meet up as soon as he sorts his stuff out weeks ago. I'm still waiting for his call. I was also told Karim has been asked not to speak to the Media.  But the silence is not helping him and the federation at all. National sprinter Norjannah Hafiszah Jamaluddin is the latest to lash out at Karim for turning his back on the six athletes who skipped drug tests last year. "When we were given warnings after the investigation and coach (Harun) banned for a year, I thought the matter was closed. "Now Wada is coming after us and we are all worried that we might not be able to run again. And it is not as if we did it on purpose. "We were told not to take the tests. I was on the phone with Karim at the time and he told us not to tak...

Terkini 10.56pm: Tahniah kepada jurulatih Kelantan Bojan Hodak dan pemain-pemain Red Warrior selepas mengalahkan Sime Darby FC 1-0 di perlawanan akhir Piala FA sebentar tadi. Beberapa perkara yang perlu diteliti; 1. Stadium penuh walaupun diantara pasukan kelab Liga Premier dan Kelantan. Ini juga bermaksud RM40 x 80,000 =  RM3.2 juta. Berapakah keuntungan FAM malam ini? 2. Kemenangan yang manis buat Annuar Musa. Cara terbaik untuk menutup mulut para pengkritiknya. 3. Bendera Che Guevara di Stadium Nasional. What's that all about? 4. Ikrar integriti oleh kedua-dua kapten pasukan agak kelam-kabut, macam budak-budak tadika.  Tak buat latihan ke? By the way, konsep intergiti tu idea siapa eh...FAM ke MSL Sdn Bhd? 5. Padang yang dikatakan "tidak elok". Kenapa agaknya eh? (Faham-faham je la). -------   79,000 tiket telah pun dijual. Kaunter di Stadium Nasional Bukit Jalil dibuka 40 minit yang lalu dan menjual baki 6,000 tiket bagi perlawanan akhir Piala F...

In the Malaysian sports scene, an athlete is deemed 'old' when he or she hits 30, and considered 'antique' when he or she is 40. Not for Australian swimmer Geoff Huegill. As part of my trip - sponsored by the Australia Malaysia Institute - I was privileged to interview Geoff in Sydney. The 33-year-old butterfly expert is still eager to make waves in the pool and believes he still has a shot at the World Championships next year and perhaps even qualify for the 2016 Olympics. This is from a man who quit the sport not too long ago, had personal problems to deal with and managed to shed a lot of weight to get back in the pool and win a gold medal at the 2010 Delhi Commonwealth. Geoff now wants to inspire the younger set of swimmers, as published in today's Mailsport. HD says: Age is just a number indeed.

Dah berkali-kali para wartawan menulis mengenainya Janji-janji manis telah dibuat sebelum liga bermula Masih terdapat pemain yang sangkut gajinya Inilah Liga-M, kononnya liga profesional kita Bekas pemain Sabah Jeremy Danker bukan seorang sahaja Dengar khabar ramai lagi yang sangkut gaji juga Semua menunggu Jawatankuasa Status duduk semeja Datuk Takiyuddin Hassan pengerusi jawatankuasa Ahli Pas yang sibuk bersiap untuk pilihanraya Ahli-ahli jawatankuasa yang lain pun tiada masa Nasib Jeremy dan rakan-rakan, macam tu jer la FAM kata process ini akan mengambil masa lama Macam court case yang selalunya lama gila Pasukan negeri buat dek, seperti biasa Bukan hal mereka, kisah management dulu katanya Berapa lama pemain kita akan menjadi mangsa Anda kata Liga M profesional? Saya malu mendengarnya.... HD says: Apa macam? Ok tak?

For those wanting funds for their programmes, read on. The Australian Sports Outreach Program (ASOP) Targeted Sport Development Grants program provides assistance of up to $AUD 20,000 to targeted small–medium size community sport development projects which provide benefits to the community through increased community participation in sport and physical activity.  These grants are available to organisations located in developing countries in Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean.  Grants have been awarded for this round (2011-12) and the budget is fully committed.  If the grants program continues in 2012-13, we will announce this on this ASOP Targeted Sport Development grants website in June or July.  Check the website regularly in June and July to see when you may be able to apply. In the meantime, please familiarise yourself with the information listed on this website, including the grant guidelines to determine if you are eligible to apply for an ASO...

THE National Sports Council (NSC) are seen to be “generous” in funding and are too fixated on winning medals. The findings of the report – A study of two successful Australian Sports: Swimming and Basketball as a model for developing and building Malaysia’s national sports associations – compiled by Australians Dr John Williams and Peter de Souza also revealed that there is lack of professional management within the NSAs and lack of funding at the grassroots. The study, which was conducted last month, was supported by the Commonwealth of Australia through the Australia-Malaysia Institute (AMI) and the Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM).  The report compared the Amateur Swimming Union of Malaysia (Asum) and the Malaysian Basketball Association (Maba) with the Swimming Australia Limited (SAL) and Basketball Australia (BA) respectively. On the subject of pathways for coaches (page 5), the report read; “The NSC needs to address this issue. At present it has fallen i...

Dengar khabar ada anak staf FAM bercita-cita nak jadi CEO MSL. Betui ka? I pun dengar khabar FAM nak CEO boneka. Tak nak macam Stuart Ramalingam kerana si Stuart tu banyak sangat idea-idea bernas, susah nak keep up. Ada desas-desus di koridor FAM mengatakan bahawa CEO kena ikut cakap individu-individu yang tertentu. Ia ker? Boleh sesiapa confirm? FAM ke? Ibu ke? Anak ke? HD kata: Oh well.....

As published in today's Mailsport . IT was a chilly Thursday morning in Melbourne. John Beasley ( pic ) was at the doorstep of The Windsor Hotel at 7am as promised as he drove Mailsport’s senior journalist Haresh Deol to the suburbs where the national cyclists trained. Along the way, Beasley left his wife Vicki off at their family owned business – Beasley Cycles. John and Vicki are the third generation of the Beasleys to run the shop which started business in 1919. Early at the Elite Sports Gym were Olympics-bound Azizulhasni Awang, Josiah Ng and Fatehah Mustapa.  Even several junior athletes including Malek Marcus Mccrone and Jupha Somnet were also at the gym as they prepare for the UCI Juniors Track World Championships in August. Beasley has played an instrumental role guiding the riders to glory. Yet, he isn’t exactly a popular figure especially among members of the Press and officials. The no-nonsense coach takes time off from his daily routine as he speaks about t...

If given a choice, national junior hockey coach K.Dharmaraj would like to enjoy some sleep. Yet, that will have to take a backseat as his team - fresh from winning the 7th Junior Asia Cup over the weekend - will play at least two opponents who will compete in the coming Sultan Azlan Shah Cup in Ipoh. Dharmaraj and team manager Minarwan Nawawi have turned into instant celebrities as their phones were ringing all the time while getting ready for their show on Astro Arena's Kafe Sukan. In fact, there was a joke that Minarwan could be getting a Datuk-ship soon. However, Dharmaraj and Minarwan revealed an interesting fact - of the motivational words penned down by the players and members of the coaching staff ( pic ) prior the final. They were eager to beat Pakistan and win the title. The boys even played mind games as they had words on their training kits questioning the age of Pakistan skipper Umar Bhutta while warming up minutes before the final. This certainly got the Pa...

As appeared in Mailsport today. MELBOURNE NATIONAL middle distance running coach S.Muthiah received the thumbs-up from Athletics Australia who want more coaches from Malaysia in their programmes. Muthiah, a three-time Sea Games champion, enjoyed a five-week stint in Australia earlier this year. Among those who worked with Muthiah was Athletics Australia coach Tim O'Shaughnessy. "I'd give Muthiah a big tick. He responded well to our training methods and programmes," said O'Shaughnessy. "Five weeks is rather short and I do hope Muthiah will come back and that other coaches will join him." Muthiah spent time in Melbourne, Canberra and Sydney. He also spent some time at the National Altitude Training Center in Falls Creek, Victoria during his earlier visit. O'Shaughnessy was met at the Melbourne schools cross country relays competition organised by the national federation at Jells Park on Saturday. Mailsport was given the opportunity to speak t...

I have not been able to update Foul! for the past week as I have been away - to Sydney, Canberra and Melbourne within the past seven days to be exact. The trip was sponsored by the Australia-Malaysia Institute, an initiative funded by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) Australia. Rest assured, no duit Rakyat Malaysia was spent. And the only thing I bought for myself is a didgeridoo which I got at a good bargain - AUD40 (RM123.20). It was a hectic but good trip as I was the sole Malaysian journalist in the group. The rest were Bangkok Post sports editor Wanchai Rujawongsanti, Siam Sport journalist Adinun Muenyang, another Thai journo Supachoke Nuamnim and Korbua Laorujijinda - the media officer for the Australian Embassy in Bangkok. We met many people, from the Australian futsal team and representatives from the Football Federation of Australia in Sydney, Aussie swimmer Geoff Huegill, visited the Malaysian High Commission in Canberra to exchanging thoughts with ...

“Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon, and the truth.” - Siddharta Gautama  Buddha With that I wish you all a blessed Wesak Day.

So is Terengganu coach Mat Zan Mat Aris in or out? According to today's NST, the Terengganu FA are swamped with applications from other coaches. Terengganu FA deputy president Shaikh Ahmad Tajuddin Shaikh Yusoff said applications from  coaches have steadily streamed in even when the job vacancy has not been made official yet.  "Among the more familiar names is Hatem Souissi (pic), a Tunisian who is familiar with Malaysian football as he used to coach the national under-23 side a while back," he said. Read more here . Where are the 'ethics' that coaches speak about when they are shipped out? Or are the ethics only convenient as and when it arises? HD says: This is football I guess...

In March, I had revealed a 'concerted effort' to remove Dr Ramlan Aziz as the chief executive officer of the National Sports Institute as seen here . I have just learnt of another attempt to remove Ramlan. Apparently, Ramlan has received a letter - supposedly signed by Sports Ministry deputy secretary general (international and administration) Jamil Salleh (presumably he signed it as he is a "saya yang menurut perintah" government officer) - transferring him to be the CEO of the Anti-Doping Agency of Malaysia or better known as Adamas. It is believed that Ramlan should have reported as the new Adamas chief on May 1. It remains unclear who will fill Ramlan's shoes in NSI. I stand corrected but the position of the NSI CEO can only be appointed and dismissed by the Sports Minister (Ahmad Shabery Cheek) as per the NSI Act 2011 . Also, isn't Adamas a unit within NSI? Wouldn't this be seen as a direct demotion? The timing is once again questionable...

...tetapi hakikatnya jurulatih Kelantan Bojan Hodak tiada masa untuk berfikir tentang perlawanan final Piala FA menentang Sime Darby Mei 19 nanti. Pasukan the Red Warrior bergegas pulang ke Kota Baru sehabisnya perlawanan mereka dengan Kedah (separuh akhir kedua) di Alor Setar. Oleh kerana tiada flight, terpaksa naik bas. Sampai KB 6.30 pagi. Kelatan ingin memperkukuhkan kedudukan mereka di Liga Super, maka mereka ingin mengalahkan Singapore LionsXII pada Mei 4. Pada Mei 8 pula, mereka akan bermain perlawanan kumpulan terakhir Piala AFC dengan kelab Burma Ayeyawady United. Kalau menang, Kelantan layak ke pusingan kedua. Dengan jadual yang begitu ketat, mampukah Kelantan merampas Piala FA? Atau mungkinkah Kelantan akan mengalami nasib yang sama seperti Terengganu? Apa yang pasti, Kelantan mungkin pasukan pilihan, tetapi ramai juga ingin melihat Sime Darby menang. Seperti Bojan kata; "In my country, we believe luck follows the brave and we were brave against Kedah....

The FA of Malaysia Disciplinary Board slapped the FA of Sarawak with fines amounting to RM46,000 and banning fans from entering the stadium for four matches last week. Yet, many believe the decision seem 'harsh' as Sarawak is finally getting the crowd to flock the stands.   "The FA should be punished but to ban their fans from watching four games is rather harsh. Here we are trying to encourage fans to come to the stadium and instead, we have the national body banning them. There should have been more thought before a decision like this." Too harsh? Or was it the right thing? You tell me. Read more in today's Mailsport. For a recap of the incident involving two siblings and an FRU officer, read here . HD says: Let's be logical about the whole situation shall we.

The Malaysian Open GP Gold could very well be national doubles women pair Chin Eei Hui-Wong Pei Tty's final outing together. Even if they do play a couple of tournaments after this, it is evident both players are seeking to hang their racquets pretty soon and try their hands at coaching instead. The duo were eager to make their third appearance at the London Olympics but that didn't materialise. Eei Hui and Pei Tty feel there is nothing more to look forward too. Read Rajes Paul's article on the two lasses here while KM Boopathy writes his preview of the tournament here . All the best in the Malaysian Open to the duo and thank you for all your contributions. Meanwhile, the Tourism Ministry is now playing an active role with the BA of Malaysia as they work together to organise the Sudirman Cup next year. Read all about it in today's Mailsport . HD says: So I guess it's coach Eei Hui and coach Pei Tty from now one eh? :)

UPDATE: Sime Darby melakar sejarah apabila menempah tiket ke final Piala FA. Pasukan Liga Premier tersebut akan berjumpa Kelantan pada Mei 19. ---- Atas kertas itulah episod terakhir Piala FA. Tapi mampukah Kelantan mengatasi Kedah di Alor Setar? Boleh ke jurulatih Terengganu Mat Zan Mat Aris membuat keajaiban apabila menentang Sime Darby di Stadium Selayang? Kelantan hanya sekadar seri 1-1 dengan Kedah di Kota Baru dalam separuh akhir pertama. Terengganu pula kalah terkejut 2-1 ke tangan pasukan Liga Premier Sime Darby. Sudah tentu Kedah dan Sime Darby akan 'park the bus'...menempatkan kesemua pemain mereka dihadapan pintu gol selama 90 minit untuk kesudahan yang dimimpikan. Jika Sime Darby menang, mereka akan mencatat sejarah tersendiri. Perlawanan yang agak menarik buat peminat. Siapakah pilihan anda ke final nanti? HD kata : Harap fan akan bersabar di stadium, kalau tak persatuan negeri kena saman berpuluh-puluh ribu Ringgit. Susah wor...