Foul!

I had a conversation with City Youth Academy's Mohd Sulaiman Gerrard Abdullah yesterday. He said business has dropped tremendously as parents are being cautious following the rise in Covid-19 cases. "Some 90 per cent of trainees have pulled out from training. It's nothing to do with (fasting during the holy month of) Ramadan but due to (the rise in the number of) Covid-19 cases," said Sulaiman. Being a father to a 15-year-old, he understands how parents feel.  "It's frustrating. Business has been really bad and now this. I just wish people will stop going out for no reason and help curb the spread of Covid-19." Other youth academy owners, however, feel differently. They said business has not been affected as parents still send their children for football training. "Perhaps some of these academies rely on school football fields and when there is a case reported in school, the school shuts down and those renting the field aren't able to use it,...

On March 9, Datuk Ahirudin Attan - who is the National Press Club of Malaysia president and Executive Advisor and the Executive Director at Petra News - wrote: We at the NPC don't make it a habit to ask the Government for handouts but, I told the press conference, it would be nice if YB Khairy Jamaluddin, our de facto vaccine minister, would recognise the role of journalists as frontliners in the war against Covid-19 and make us part of the priority group for vaccination.   His views were picked up by numerous news organisations, including Berita Harian  and Getaran .  On April 22, Getaran's Mastura Malak asked the government where is the Covid-19 vaccination for members of the press . She had quoted Ahirudin as saying:  “Pada ketika ini kerajaan dilihat seperti tidak mengambil endah dan sengaja melengah-lengahkan perkara ini menyebabkan para pengamal media masih lagi tidak mendapat vaksin awal, sedangkan kita memang terdedah dan berisiko untuk dijangkiti v...

Update 1pm: The tweet by the Youth and Sports Ministry has been deleted. --  The above was  tweeted by the Youth and Sports Ministry of Malaysia yesterday. The ministry said that Tan Sri Dr M. Jegathesan was the first Malaysian to compete in the Olympic semi finals in 1960 in the 100m event. The below appears on  Olympic Council of Malaysia's website: He (Jegathesan) became the first Malaysian to enter the semi-finals in an Athletics event at the Olympic in 1964 and 1968. In the Encyclopedia of Malaysia Sports and Recreation , there's a picture caption on page 96 (Track and Field) that reads: The centre stage in athletics in the 1960s belonged to three-time Olympian Dr M. Jegathesan. He won the gold medal in the 200-metre event at the 1962 Asian Games in Jakarta and became Malaysia's first ever Olympic semi-finalist in the men's 200 metres at the 1964 Tokyo Olympic Games . And this is Jegathesan's records according to World Athletics . As such, the tweet should r...

  I must thank Olympian Maninderjit Singh, aka Mike, for diligently providing me with daily updates of the international friendly hockey matches happening in Kuala Lumpur. I do, however, find it odd that I'm getting such updates from a former international and not from the Malaysian Hockey Confederation. 😒 Back to Maninderjit, he paid tribute to New Straits Times' senior hockey writer Jugjet Singh's article that was published earlier today. The Malaysian hockey team has lost all their games in the triangular involving Japan and Great Britain thus far.  Jugjet wrote:  Malaysia, despite their home ground advantage, have been disappointing. Covid-19 may have made field training difficult, but it's the same situation for Japan and Britain. So, no excuses here too. Today is Malaysia's last chance to avoid a "100 per cent losses" in the triangular. Arul's men really need to be great against Britain. All the best to the Malaysian team when they take on Grea...

"Dengan itu, mengambil kira untuk kebaikan atlet, KOM dan wakil MSN (Majlis Sukan Negara) memberi kebenaran untuk mereka pulang ke Johor berlatih di bawah Poad. "Bagaimanapun, kedua-dua atlet ini perlu pulang ke MSN untuk latihan bagi acara 4x100 meter pada masa yang ditetapkan. KOM dan MSN akan terus membantu kedua-dua atlet ini untuk mencapai prestasi terbaik mereka." Read the full article in Berita Harian . We've seen similar situations happen in the past.   Obviously we want the best for our athletes.  But consider this. You stay in your parents' house. Your parents provide you a monthly allowance. And they don't ask a single sen from you when you (eventually) earn some money.  Yet, you dictate what you want to eat, who you want to meet and who you want to mix around with because you believe it's your birth right. If I had pulled the same "birth right" stunt, my late dad would pack my bags and ask me to leave his house. He used to say: ...

"Tular pada hari ini pasukan bola sepak kita dapat vaksin. Ada yang tanya adakah pasukan bola sepak kita golongan OKU, warga emas ataupun komorbid?  Tidak. Sebab mereka terlibat dalam pertandingan kelayakkan Piala Dunia. 99 peratus tak pasti layak atau tidak tetapi kita kena bagi vaksin kepada mereka kerana mereka dalam proses untuk pergi ke UAE, kalau tak silap saya, untuk perlawanan kelayakkan Piala Dunia. Itu sebab kita bagi kepada atlet." Ini kata-kata Khairy Jamaluddin ketika sidangmedia Perkembangan Program Imunisasi COVID-19 Kebangsaan hari ini. Kata Khairy, 99 peratus tak pasti layak atau tidak tapi kena bagi vaksin.  Kalau tak main dalam perlawanan kelayakkan Piala Dunia dan ranking negara merosot, orang akan kritik pasukan negara pula. Layak atau tidak, kenalah bagi vaksin. Betul tak?  Kalau belum daftar untuk mendapatkan vaksin Covid-19, sila daftar sekarang.  Daftar untuk vaksinasi melalui salah satu daripada 3 kaedah ini. #LindungDiriLindungSemua pic.tw...

" ... tindakan ini adalah bertentangan dengan matlamat dan asas pelaksanaan program sukan di sekolah. Tindakan segera dan sewajarnya telah diambil oleh KPM." Ini merupakan hasil tulisan Menteri Pendidikan Datuk Radzi Jidin  di laman Facebooknya berkaitan sekolah di Johor yang menetapkan aktiviti sukan and kokorikulum ikut kaum. Semalam saya menulis di blog ini bahawa alasan yang digunapakai oleh pengetua sekolah tersebut dalam menetapkan panduan yang agak rasis adalah alasan yang mengarut  dan tak masuk akal. Soalan saya kepada pihak kementerian - apakah tindakan segera dan sewajarnya yang telah diambil? 

  When contacted, the school’s principal Abdul Razak Hamid confirmed the note and claimed the “conditions” were necessary because of the lack of sporting facilities for the students. “We are a hockey school, so the existing field has to be used for the sport, so there is no other field that can be used for other sports. “So, we have to set conditions like that to attract Malay students who are not interested in sports to join the various clubs.” Read the full report on Free Malaysia Today . That has got to be the most ridiculous (and scary) excuse I've heard throughout my 21 years as a journalist. 1. ... the “conditions” were necessary because of the lack of sporting facilities for the students. There are many schools in Kuala Lumpur that lack sporting facilities. Take SMK Maxwell for example. The school does not have a field. Yet, you don't see the school imposing such conditions. 2.  “So, we have to set conditions like that to attract Malay students who are not interested in...

"Jika tiada sifat-sifat kecintaan, ia boleh dianggap sebagai pembelot. Jangan main-main dengan saya ..." Ini kata-kata pemangku Presiden Persatuan Bolasepak Sabah (SAFA), Datuk Seri Bung Moktar Radin, seperti dilaporkan di Berita Harian hari ini. Ini pula yang dilaporkan Harian Metro pada 9 April, 2021. Sumber dalaman Sabah FC berkata, Rawilson dan Azzizan antara pemain yang bersuara mengenai gaji yang sebelum ini tertunggak dua bulan. "Memang betul mereka (Rawilson dan Azzizan) ditinggalkan, ia ada kaitan dengan isu gaji tertunggak sebelum ini. "Mereka juga antara yang bersuara mengenainya (isu gaji) sehingga sesi latihan pasukan dibatalkan semalam," katanya kepada Arena Metro. ...  Beliau ( Ketua Pegawai Eksekutif Sabah Football Club Khairul Firdays Akbar)  juga menafikan gaji pemain dan pegawai pasukan tertunggak sehingga tiga bulan seperti yang tular di media sosial, semalam. "Memang diakui berlakunya beberapa kelewatan pembayaran gaji, namun ianya t...

Strategi atau pelan untuk sesebuah persatuan seharusnya berterusan dan bukan untuk semusim atau hanya ketika presiden persatuan dan ahli exconya berkhidmat. Dan kalau persatuan sukan mempunyai pelan yang kukuh dan mampu meletakkan harga yang "terlalu mahal" untuk pemainnya, ini mungkin kerana mereka telah mengambil kira aspek "return of investment" apabila membeli atlet tersebut. Pemain merupakan aset yang bukan hanya berharga di atas padang tetapi mampu memainkan peranan yang sama penting di luar padang dalam mengumpan penaja. Kolum saya di Getaran hari ini - Bila beli pemain, ukur baju di badan sendiri .

International Tennis Federation yesterday announced the results of a global research project examining sports gender equality across the media and social media. Conducted and delivered by Ipsos MORI, the research explored how the representation of male and female athletes varies, identifying key differences by market and media type, as well as any differences in consumer searches between male and female players. The report found that the conversation and coverage of men's tennis is more focused on the sport, with a strong combative narrative and a sense of history, elite competition and achievement.   Meanwhile, the conversation around women's tennis is less intense and relatively more focused on life off court, from health and age to family. Key findings: Women's tennis content is twice as likely to reference a player's age. Men's tennis content is twice as likely to refer to 'battle' terminology. Men's content is 70% more likely to mention a player...

Norismadi Abd Manap (RTM) dipilih sebagai Presiden baharu Persatuan Penulis-Penulis Sukan Malaysia (SAM) untuk penggal 2020-2023 selepas meraih kemenangan dengan kelebihan satu undi ke atas penyandang jawatan, Datuk Jasni Shafie hari ini. Norismadi meraih 47 undi manakala Jasni mendapat 46 undi dan satu undi rosak. Sejumlah 106 ahli SAM layak mengundi pada proses pengundian semula itu yang berlangsung di dewan Akademi Badminton Malaysia (ABM), Bukit Kiara. Daripada jumlah tersebut hanya 94 ahli yang hadir untuk menjalankan amanah mereka. Pengundian semula itu diadakan selepas dua calon jawatan Presiden dan dua calon untuk mengisi satu jawatan Exco telah mendapat undi yang sama pada mesyuarat agung Tri-Tahunan SAM 2020-2023 di TH Hotel, Kelana Jaya, 3 April lalu. Dua calon Presiden iaitu Jasni dan Norismadi masing-masing terikat dengan 51 undi manakala dua calon untuk mengisi satu jawatan Exco, Ajitpal Singh Dhaliwal (New Strait Times) dan Vikneswaran Raman (Bernama) terikat dengan 57 u...

"At this point in our build up to Europeans and the Olympics, the health and wellbeing of our staff and players is paramount. Weighing up the potential performance benefit of heat and humidity versus the uncertainties we live with at this time globally, particularly with travel and quarantine periods, has been incredibly difficult." This was posted on Hockey Ireland's website yesterday. Travellers to Malaysia who have a negative RT-PCR Covid-19 test result will be  quarantined for seven days in Malaysia. Malaysian ministers, however, only require a three-day quarantine period - a move which has been slammed by health experts . As  Twentytwo13 's Graig Nunis pointed out in his weekly dairy published today, for the second week running, the number of  new cases exceeded recoveries  with 9,635 new infections taking the total number of Covid-19 cases to 357,607.  If the number of cases was recorded in Hockey Ireland's statement, then it would have made sense. ...

Update (April 10, 9.52am): Sabah FA nafi kononnya berlaku kes tunggakkan gaji tiga bulan.  -- Sesi latihan skuad Sabah Football Club (FC), petang tadi, terbatal dipercayai ada kaitan dengan isu gaji pemain yang dikatakan tertunggak dua bulan. Sumber dalam pasukan berkata, latihan sepatutnya bermula jam 4 petang namun selepas perbincangan hangat di kalangan pemain dan barisan kejurulatihan, sesi berkenaan kemudian dibatalkan. Read Harian Metro's ' Gaji tertunggak, pemain Sabah FC boikot latihan '. Sabah Rhinos had tweeted this earlier yesterday: Update: Players boikot training. Jam 4pm start, lepak2 kejap lepas jam 4.40pm pulang. Ya la 3 BULAN GAJI BELUM MASUK LAGI. How???!! — SabahRhinos (@sabahrhinos) April 8, 2021 Some things occur every year in Malaysia - the very many festivities, floods in the east coast and footballers not being paid for months.  It's not a laughing matter as these footballers need to put food on their tables. It's their profession. If this ha...

“The national sports vision will include high-performance sports, grassroots development, focus on sports that have potential for glory in major tournaments, and the sports industry. The vision will be inclusive.” Those were the words of Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Seri Reezal Merican Naina Merican, November last year. Read Twentytwo13' s  New national sports vision to include women, grassroots and the industry . Since then, there have been engagements, sessions and meetings with stakeholders including yours truly. In Feb, I asked if the National Sports Vision will end up as political gimmick?  And on March 27, I hinted on this blog that VSN 2030 will be delayed instead of being launched this month. At 3pm today, the Kanvas Visi Sukan Negara 2030 was launched. Not the vision itself but a "canvassing" exercise to touch up an existing 'canvas'. Note the difference. I thank those who made it a point to organise a closed door session among members of the Press at ...

There's an event involving a deputy minister tomorrow and the deadline for media to register is at 6pm today. It's 6.17pm and not a single person has signed up. Guess who the deputy minister is ... Clue: He is a senator.  p/s: To the organiser, fret not. Mana tau last minute ada orang datang jugak. 

"Jika bercakap mengenai sasaran, saya letakkan minimum lima dan maksimum lapan emas." So said Malaysia Athletics Federation president Datuk SM Muthu last month ahead of the year-end Vietnam SEA Games. Let's take a look at the five gold medals won by the athletics team at the 2019 SEA Games held in several cities the Philippines. Muhammad Haiqal Hanafi won the 100m event after clocking 10.35s. He surprised everyone including himself. It was a good surprise as he earned a SEA Games gold medal and inked his name in the history books.  However, the fact remains that his time is no where near the national record of 10.18s set by Khairul Hafiz Jantan. The other gold medalist were seasoned high jumpers Lee Hup Wei and Yap Sean Yee, triple jumper Hakimi Ismail and discus thrower Irfan Shamsuddin. Andre Anura Anuar won the silver medal in the men's long jump event in the regional Games. He broke the national record after recording a 8.02m jump. The previous record of 7.88m wa...

"I believe we cannot rush into making a decision, and when we do, it has to be an informed decision." Those were the words of BA of Malaysia secretary-general, Datuk Kenny Goh. The full article can be read in NST today. I remember playing badminton using the original scoring system - 15 points each match in a best of three games. The girls played until 11 points per game. The matches were long, and at times draggy, but it was during an era where we didn't really have any other distractions. There were other changes along the way. In 2002, the scoring system shortened the games to seven points and decided matches based on the best of five games. It didn't work. In 2006, the 21 point system (best of three sets) was introduced and is still being used till today. Next month, the Badminton World Federation is looking at introducing a new scoring system. The BWF Council has taken forward the proposal to amend the badminton scoring system and the members will vote during the...

It looks like I'm not the only one suffering from a splitting headache today. Perhaps it's the weather but the heat was certainly on during the Sportswriters Association of Malaysia's (SAM) annual general meeting cum election at Hotel TH in Kelana Jaya today. Long story short, incumbent Datuk Jasnie Shafie and challenger Norismadi Abd Manap were tied at 51 votes each. As such, SAM deputy president Ahmed Faisal Jamal will play acting president until fresh voting session for the president's post takes place within the next 14 days.  Only the 102 members who voted today will take part in the re-vote - a situation which has never been seen before since SAM was established in 1969. Congratulations to those who were elected and all the best to those contesting for the top post. p/s: I hope this continued "competition" will not create any friction among the SAM members. The build up was intense with lobbying, multiple forwarded messages and phone calls. A big thank y...

First view: "Jadi berilah andaian yang adil kepada pemain dan sokongan diperlukan untuk memajukan bola sepak. Pemain perlu disokong supaya mereka dapat kembali ke landasan sebenar. Jika peluang tidak diberikan kepada mereka, saya rasa kita akan kekurangan pemain." 'Beri sokongan, bantu mereka' - April 2, 2021 (Berita Harian) Second view: Rather than placing these ‘average’ young players, in whom we have invested so much, into a single team that will be plundered by teams from the second tier of Malaysian football competition (Premier League), it would be best if we have them join lower league teams (M3 and M4) or even better, a university or college team competing at the university football league. FAM-NSC project squad: An accident waiting to happen? - Dec 24, 2020 (Twentytwo13) This reminds me of my interview with Lim Teong Kim in 2019. He was then quoted as saying: "We need to create a pathway for them to play with Under-19 teams. Let’s be realistic, not all ...

"People come together without the need for any speeches. The spirit of unity and patriotism (through) sports channels is very important."  These were the words of Communications and Multimedia Minister Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah, as reported by Bernama. TV Sukan was launched today as RTM turns 75 today.  As news organisations continue to shrink with at least one "mainstream media" (which aggregates a lot these days and oddly slaps bylines of its writers on its unoriginal pieces) having closed its sports desk, a dedicate sports channel is certainly music to sports fans' ears. This is in addition to Astro Arena - another 24-7 channel that focuses on local sports and has certainly made an impact in the local sports scene. All the best to the crew at TV Sukan! p/s: I wonder who will eventually head the channel?