Foul!

UPDATE (Feb 1):   Funeral / prayer service at Room E, The Association of Kwong Tong Cemetery Management Kuala Lumpur, Jalan Dewan Bahasa. Day 1: Saturday,  Feb 1 Time: 1pm - 10:30pm Day 2: Sunday, Feb 2 Time: 10am - 10:30pm Cremation at Cheras DBKL Crematorium, Jalan Kuari, 56000 Kuala Lumpur Date: Monday, Feb 3 Time: 1pm ----- Malaysia lost another legendary football player when former national midfielder Wong Choong Wah passed away due to a heart attack this morning.      The death of Wong at age 67 is all the more saddening as today is the first day of the Chinese New Year.      His contemporary Datuk Soh Chin Aun, also a household name in local and regional football, said he found out about Wong's death from Wong's wife. He said Wong's wife said he suffered a heart attack at home in Sri Petaling here and was rushed to the Kuala Lumpur Hospital at 3 am.      "I'm very shocked, because Wong sti...

Police coach Dollah Salleh was forced to undergo surgery yesterday. According to Dollah's wife Roslina Ibrahim, the former international had been complaining of sharp pains in the chest lately. "Since he didn't have any matches on Tuesday, we decided to visit the doctor for his medical check up," said Roslina. "The doctor then said he must undergo surgery and was wheeled into the operation theater at 8pm." Roslina, when contacted at about 11pm yesterday, said her husband's surgery was completed and that the surgeons had said everything went well. Roslian said her husband had a "bleeding artery" which required doctors to place a stent. "He would need to rest for the next two to three weeks." Picture of Dollah before he underwent surgery made its rounds on social media last night. HD says: Get well soon coach!

It was an interesting Friday night in the heart of Kuala Lumpur. Petaling Street, or better known as Chinatown, was brightly lit ahead of the Lunar New Year as locals and tourists enjoyed meals by the roadside. Just a stone’s throw away at the Olympic Hotel, there were some 50-odd varsity students who were hungry to learn about the media. These students were volunteers for the upcoming Higher Learning Institution Games (Sukipt). I was invited, yet again, to speak to them. My previous encounter with Sukipt volunteers was just before the previous edition in 2012. It was always fun learning from our young and bright students. While I had, in the past, mostly addressed journalism students, this time around I had the opportunity to engage with students from various backgrounds — from aeronautical engineering undergraduates to a bio-technology student. There were in-house bulletins promoting the Games that were designed and produced by science students. It was evident the volunteers were not...

OLD La Sallians Association of Klang (Olak-PKT) had to bring out their best to edge 1MAS Perak 2-1 in Division Two B of the Junior Hockey League at the Azlan Shah Stadium in Ipoh yesterday. However, Olak who have 15 points from five straight wins, were unhappy with certain aspects of the match and have sent in a written protest with a RM500 deposit. "Although we won the match, I am unhappy with how the umpires handled the match, and have submitted a written protest to highlight the shortcomings which almost cost us dearly," said Olak team manager Joseph de Silva. Read more in today's NST .   Meanwhile, SS Dhaliwal, a man who knows hockey inside out, took issue over the selection of several fresh faces as coaches on his Twitter account:     HD says: Would the concerned parties care to explain?

The FA of Malaysia (FAM) are taking steps to curb match-fixing activities, including syndicates flying in teams to play dubious matches in Malaysia. “We have learnt from the Zimbabwe saga and there will not be a repeat under my watch, that I assure you,” said FAM general-secretary Datuk Hamidin Amin (pic), referring to a Zimbabwe club side that masqueraded as its national team in 2009. “We have had meetings with our integrity committee. All I can say is the authorities will act against any Malaysian suspected of fixing matches.” Read more in The Malay Mail today. HD says: Here's hoping we will not be 'conned' by bookies in the future.

Malaysian betting syndicates have grown in stature as their corrupt practices have now penetrated leagues across the world. Chris Eaton, director of Sport Integrity at the International Centre for Sport and Security, said Malaysians have been in the thick of global betting syndicates and were linked to leagues and agents in Australia, England and Brunei. He was responding to reports that a Malaysian betting syndicate had tried to fix matches in India last season. “Yes (I am) aware of this (Malaysians linked to fixing I-League matches). (They are) connected to Australia and England, and interestingly Brunei too,” said Eaton yesterday. “But it’s far bigger than Malaysia as you know. All our tracks are leading to China and Russia via compliant, complicit and ignorant others.” Eaton, however, was unsure if the M-League, which kicked-off last week, was spared from such activities. “We are in the middle of these inquiries now. We haven’t looked at the M-league for a while. Just look at the...

They rallied the crowd to cheer them on during the match and rightfully gave badminton enthusiasts something to cheer about. Goh V Shem and Lim Khim Wah defeated China pair Chai Biao-Hong Wei 21-19, 21-18 in the men’s doubles final at the Malaysia Open over the weekend. Both pairs provided a breath of fresh air for their character and eagerness to outdo each other proved badminton was alive at the Putra Stadium in Bukit Jalil. Goh and Lim made up for the disappointing outing provided by top national doubles pair Koo Kean Keat-Tan Boon Heong who were smashed out in the first round of the competition last week. World No.1 Lee Chong Wei, meanwhile, was reduced to tears as he fell on his knees and thanked the Almighty after netting his 10th Malaysia Open title. He edged Indonesian Tommy Sugiarto 21-19, 21-9 in the men’s single final. Two contrasting tales — one of an upcoming pair who, hopefully, have plenty more to offer while the other is about an aging hero who has hinted of han...

Furious with the condition of the pitch, T-Team have taken the FA of Malaysia to task for allowing the match to take place at Petaling Jaya Stadium. They have lodged an official complaint with the national body and do not want upcoming matches to be played at the stadium. "It was impossible to play football yesterday (Saturday). The pitch was unplayable. Our players could not make decent passes or make attempts in Selangor's penalty box throughout the match," said T-Team CEO Abd Rasid Jusoh yesterday. "I am dumbfounded as the stadium management did nothing to improve the quality of its pitch after the end of last season when it was far better. "Hopefully, FAM will pick an alternative venue for Selangor. No match should be hosted at the stadium until the problem is rectified." T-Team coach Azraai Khor Abdullah described the pitch as an embarrassment. "The match was telecast 'live' so everyone saw firsthand the quality...

The national badminton scene seems to be hogging the limelight for the wrong reasons recently. The drama seen outside the courts is more apparent that what transpires during tournaments. The results of the players have not been satisfactory, but for men's doubles pair Goh V Shem and Lim Khim Wah who will play China's Chai Biao-Hong Wei in the Malaysian Open final today. As expected, world No 1 Lee Chong Wei is set to retain his 10th title as he plays Tommy Sugiarto Several matters were highlighted throughout the week including the 'resignation' of BAM general manager Kenny Goh as reported here . While some parties had 'refuted' Kenny quitting the national stable, SS Dhaliwal provided the resignation letter on his Twitter account ( pic below ). The Star , meanwhile, reported that Morten Frost could return to Malaysia to handle the Capabilities, Skills and Research committee, as apparently discussed during the council meeting on Saturday. According ...

As published in Mailsport today A KUALA LUMPUR-based football academy was baffled to see three of its players donning the jersey of another club in the on-going Frenz United International Cup. Youth Football Academy (YFA) chief coach N. Radhakrishnan admitted he was unsure to why three of his former players — M. Kogileswaran Raj, R. Dinesh and Muhammad Syazwan Salihin — were part of Frenz United Malaysia’s first eleven instead of the national Under-16 team. “I am confused. We trained the boys since they were 10 and handed them over to the national set-up as they had impressed the national junior selectors," said Radhakrishnan. “Now I see them in a jersey of a different club. I thought they would be playing for the national team. Why should I supply my players to another club?" Radhakrishnan, who has been with YFA since 2000, said this episode would discourage other academies from supplying talents to the national set-up. "YFA have not obtained...

Teh-o kosong suam. When translated, it means warm tea, without milk and sugar. It’s a drink I usually order when I am at a mamak restaurant. But I have an issue with the price of the drink. At some places, one would be able to get it for just 80sen but at most places, it ranges between RM1 and RM1.50 — no different from a glass of teh tarik, with milk and sugar. When questioned about the unfair pricing, the foreigner who mans the cashier would usually either stare blankly or give a sly smile. That leaves you wondering if the foreigner actually understood what you had said. Why would a drink — a mixture of boiled water and a teaspoon of tea leaves — cost so much? The same can be said about dishes served at such eateries. A plate of fried noodles may cost RM3 but the moment you ask for mee goreng vegetarian, it shoots up to RM3.50. And why should one pay RM3 for a plate of Indo mee goreng — a packet of fried instant noodles with no meat or vegetables? Ridiculous ...

WHEN something is not doing well, we introduce changes.   When something is doing well, we implement more changes.   Even when nothing is happening, we will still say change-lah.   We love changes, whether it makes any sense or otherwise. The question remains — will the changes solve the very many issues at hand?   Many new direction, directives and policies have been implemented at various levels within the local sports scene. We had the implementation of the 1Student 1Sport policy by the Education Ministry in 2011. It was to see the participation of more students in sports. I, among the very many, was skeptical over the new directive for a similar policy was seen in the 1990s where every student was supposed to partake in one club, one uniformed body and one sporting activity. Yet, it did not address the fact that students were very much academically inclined and the lack of playing space and equipment further frustrated the cause.   It is of no...

UPDATE Jan 15:  The infrastructure, public amenities and youth and sports committee has decided to table an RM4 million allocation to the state government to repair both the Pandamaran and PJ hockey stadiums. This was decided in a meeting on Monday. Read more here . -------- Former Pandamaran assemblyman Ronnie Liu denied allegations the state government failed to help Klang Municipal Council upgrade the the Pandamaran hockey stadium. He said the state approved some RM600,000 for the council to refurbish the stadium, as published in The Malay Mail (page 10) today. "I brought this matter up at the state executive meeting in 2011 as I was informed the council lacked funds to upgrade the stadium," Liu was quoted as saying. "(Selangor MB Abdul) Khalid Ibrahim approved the proposal during the meeting." This was a follow up on the Haresh Says commentary " Do the right thing Khalid Ibrahim " published on Dec 31, 2013. The commentary highlighted th...

PRESS RELEASE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION FOOTBALL LEAGUE AWARDS  Hadi Fayyad Picks Up Three Titles in MOE Football League Awards PETALING JAYA (11 Jan 2014) – Muhammad Hadi Fayyad Abdul Razak was the biggest winner in the Ministry of Education Football League Awards 2013 when he picked up three titles at the ceremony that was held at the Majlis Sukan Negara this afternoon. Hadi, who will turn 14-years-old later this year, was chosen as the Best Striker, after having emerged as the Top Scorer with 12 goals, where he was also selected as the Most Talented Player of the Season for the Minister of Education League Cup (MELC) Under-14. The lanky youngster plays for the Gambang Sports School, who was the losing finalist last season. “Of course, I am very honoured with the three awards that have been given to me,” said Hadi Fayyad, who admires Safee Sali as his idol. “It will definitely spur me to do better for the new season.’ Hadi started his career with Perak, having ...

I had on Tuesday highlighted about the national Under-16 team playing as Frenz United FC in a friendly match against Liverpool Under-17 team in my column Haresh Says, published in The Malay Mail . Having read the commentary, The Malay Mail correspondent SS Dhaliwal checked with FA of Malaysia (FAM) general-secretary Hamidin Amin as tweeted by Dhaliwal: On Thursday, Hamidin painted a different picture as he was quoted by Mailsport saying: “We endorsed the idea of using the Frenz jersey. It is not a big deal. FAM and Frenz have an agreement should any untoward incidents occur too." Read the full report here . While FAM may think it is "not a big deal", their other stakeholders - the Education Ministry - are not impressed at all. And those in the ministry are also not amused with the name dropping, as some quarters had been using, or rather misusing, deputy prime minister cum education minister Muhyiddin Yassin's name. I wonder if Muhyiddin knows abou...

Part of the roof of the National Squash Centre in Bukit Jalil collapsed on Tuesday, adding another chapter to similar cases involving stadiums and public hospitals in recent months. The roof at the centre underwent maintenance works two years ago but the centre had yet to undergo any major refurbishment since it was opened for the Commonwealth Games in 1998. An office was destroyed while water managed to seep through certain areas of the centre. The flooding, however, did not damage the courts or the Squash Racquet Association of Malaysia's (SRAM) office. The centre comes under the purview of the Malaysia Stadium Corporation (MSC). MSC chief executive officer Ahmad Harun Helmi remained tight-lipped over the incident. "I have been instructed by Sports Ministry secretary-general Datuk Jamil Salleh not to give any statement," he said. Read more in The Malay Mail today. HD says: Thankfully no one was hurt in the incident.

   

Haresh Says , as published in The Malay Mail today. With the increasing number of our East Malaysian friends now working and living in the Klang Valley, it is only natural for some churches to conduct their mass in Bahasa Melayu – simply to ensure those attending understood what is going on. The same situation can be seen in many Gurdwara as projectors screen the English translation of verses from the Guru Granth Sahib so that the younger generation could understand better. In short, it is just a way for followers to understand their religion better. Even calling this entire episode as the ‘Allah issue’ is wrong. Since when was God  an issue? There are better ways of addressing such matters as rightfully said by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak. “It will be less tense when we can sit down together,” Najib was quoted as saying. Let’s understand the matter at hand before jumping the gun. Let’s be matured about this. The last thing we need is to politicise this. I rather...

Is it right for the national team to don the colours of another even for a one-off friendly match? That seems to be the question raised by many after watching Frenz United FC Under-16 team play Liverpool Under-17 at the Selayang Stadium on Saturday. Liverpool won 2-1 as Najumuddin Samad scored the solitary goal for Frenz United. The match, aired live on TV1 and by regional broadcasters Fox Sports, saw a bulk of the national youth players donning Frenz United colours. Even national Under-16 coach S. Balachandran wore a Frenz United jersey. Many, including those within the FA of Malaysia (FAM), were unable to comprehend the arrangement while the Education Ministry’s sports unit held discussions about the matter. Any programmes involving school children must obtain the approval of the ministry. Insiders claimed the ministry were unaware the team would play as Frenz United. “I’m liaising with FAM to sort this matter out as we only deal with the national body,” said sports unit head Ee Hon...

Wushu exponent Mohd Meeraj Omar (pic) went to China to fight in competitions there in the hope of winning prize money to pay for his dying mother’s hospital bills totalling RM90,000. Meeraj’s mother, Guladama Gull-Rahman, who was a diabetic, underwent appendix surgery at a specialist centre in Kuala Lumpur last month. When Meeraj, who lost three front teeth when an opponent punched him with an illegal blow, returned to Kuala Lumpur on Thursday, his 58-year-old mother had died on the same day. She was buried at the Segambut Muslim Cemetery yesterday. Meeraj, 23, who is of Pakistani-Malaysian parentage, only heard about the tragic news on arrival at the airport. “I went to China as each competition there offered RM10,000 to the winner. I wanted to use my winnings to settle my mother’s hospital bills. “I do not know what to do. The hospital has threatened to take legal action. I love my mother very much." Read the full report in today...

I believe the pictures, taken from various sources, say it all... Clockwise: Malaysia's first prime minister Tunku Abdul Rahman, US president Barack Obama, India prime minister Manmohan Singh, UK prime minister David Cameron, China president Xi Jinping and Malaysia's prime minister Najib Razak.

The Pahang Football Association (PFA) have appealed to the FA of Malaysia (FAM) to review their player status committee’s decision on Mohd Amirulhadi Zainal (pic). Former international Amirulhadi was alleged to have signed a two-year-contract with the PFA but made a U-turn by joining cash-rich Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) at the eleventh hour, forcing PFA to lodge a complaint to FAM.  Last Friday, the player status committee deemed that Amirul’s contract with PFA was “doubtful” making the contract void and ruled that the 27-year-old midfielder’s move to JDT legal. Amirul was slapped with a RM25,000 fine for failing to reveal the status of his contract and PFA were given three days to file an appeal. Read the full article here . HD says: Professional eh?

While the Selangor government boasts a reserve of RM2.8 billion, the Klang Municipal Council claimed it has no funds to repair the Pandamaran hockey stadium. Even more shocking is that the council had requested allocation from the state and federal governments in the past only for their request to be shot down. The Malay Mail's Gho Chee Yuan spoke to the council’s corporate department director, Dahwari Daud. “We have plans but lack the funds to implement them. “Our applications (for funds) were rejected last year but we will continue to apply for an extra allocation from the state and federal governments to upgrade the Pandamaran stadium.” Read the full report here . Dahwari was asked to respond to the ‘Haresh Says’ column in The Malay Mail yesterday headlined “ Do the right thing, Khalid Ibrahim ”. The column highlighted the poor condition of the Pandamaran and Petaling Jaya hockey stadiums. On a brighter note, the PJ hockey stadium will see a new turf as the PJ C...

There were fireworks in every part of the nation but for Dataran Merdeka - the iconic landmark of the nation. It says a lot. Here's hoping for a meaningful 2014. Happy New Year folks! Beautiful pic by Bernama