Foul!

TWO former footballers were charged in the Sessions Court in Seremban this morning with two counts of offering bribes to two Malaysian Indian Sports Council-Malaysian Indian Football Association (MISC-MIFA) players involving RM20,000. National player Khairul Anuar Baharum, 43, and Public Bank player S G. Prem Kumar, 49, claimed trial to both charges. On the first charge, they are accused of offering RM10,000 to MIFA goal keeper Mohd Khairul Izzuwan Shaari to fix the outcome of the match, 0-2, between MISC-MIFA and Perak State Development Corporation on April 7, this year. On the second charge, they are accused of offering RM10,000 to MIFA player S.Harivarman for the same purpose. They allegedly committed the offences at Jalan Andalas 1, Senawang Light Industry Area in Seremban between 9pm and 10pm on March 27. Deputy public prosecutor Nurdiyanah Mohd Nawawi represented the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) while Khairul Anuar or ”Ah Chong” was represented by co...

It was April 17, 2017. The selection committee for the National Sports Awards met at Casa 1, National Sports Council. Among those in the committee were NST sports editor Vijesh Rai, The Star deputy sports editor Eric Samuel and Sportswriters Association of Malaysia secretary Faisal Jamal. I was privileged to be part of the committee for the second time (first being last year) and thankful to be part of a team that created history on April 26, 2017. It was decided, with the consensus of all present, that we send a message by naming Abdul Latif Romly as National Sportsman of the Year. He deserves it, having smashed the world record three times in the long jump (T20) event at the Rio Paralympics on Sept 11, 2016. There were questions raised if he was better than the other contenders. But there were those who argued how can one compare a cyclist and a shuttler? The awards ceremony is not just about recognising our heroes but a perfect platform to send a message to the...

As published in Sunday Mail By Haresh Deol P ETALING JAYA — A former footballer has disclosed how Kuala Lumpur FA was “managed” by alleged bookie G. Prem Kumar in 2013. The footballer, who revealed all to Sunday Mail on condition of anonymity, described his season with the city side as a “nightmare”. Nicknamed Tom Boy, the 49-year-old Prem Kumar from Sentul was detained on Thursday and remanded on Friday for six days over allegations of match-fixing. This was following the arrests of three Malaysian Indian Sports Council-Malaysian Indian FA (MISC-MIFA) footballers for their alleged involvement in corrupt practices. Threatened in Sentul He added Prem Kumar, who was married to a police officer, was no stranger to the domestic scene and once played as a striker for Public Bank. “He then became an official with Public Bank (in 2003) and was active in community football. I’ve seen him play in smaller tournaments,” he said. Recalling the 2013 fi...

As published in Sunday Mail By Haresh Deol haresh@mmail.com.my PETALING JAYA — The FA of Malaysia (FAM) were “advised” by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) to come down hard on Kuala Lumpur Premier League players in 2013 A ranking MACC officer said it was unfortunate the national body did not follow through with their recommendations and instead only handed life bans to five KL players — Fadhullah Yunsifar, Phoo Kai Lun, Khairul Anuar Shafie, Jeremy Danker and Hafizi Roslee. Seventeen others in the team, including goalkeeper Azizon Abdul Kadir, who pleaded guilty were slapped with a RM5,000 fine each. Azizon went on to play for the national team. “We made our recommendations to FAM to ensure they punished the players. The decision was to serve as a stern warning to the other players,” said the officer. “Instead, 17 players were handed mere fines. That’s not right, not right at all.” He was baffled how goalkeeper Azizon, who admitted to match-f...