Foul!

1. Pegawai sukan dan wartawan sukan mempunyai hubungan yang istimewa. Mereka saling memerlukan satu sama lain. 2. Ada yang suka apa yang dilaporkan. Ada pula yang akan melenting. Yang pasti, laporan harus objektif dan mampu memperkasakan lagi industri sukan negara. 3. Dalam tempoh 22 tahun saya berkecimpung dalam industri kewartawanan, ada yang tidak menyukai kritikan saya. Ada pula yang berpendapat dunia kewartawanan serupa dengan perhubungan awam - sepatutnya tulis " cantik-cantik saje ye. " 4. Saya juga pernah disaman. Ada yang gembira sakan apabila saya disaman 11 tahun yang lalu. Namun, hakim membatalkan kes saman malu (defamation) tersebut dan berkata ianya " an abuse of judicial process ".  5. Pernah di Kongres Persatuan Bola Sepak Malaysia (FAM) lebih sedekad yang lalu, presiden FAM Allahyarham Sultan Ahmad Shah berkata kepada saya, "You ah, sometimes hit below the belt. But don't worry, I won't get angry." Ini berikutan hasil tulisan krit...

Kuala Lumpur City FC will play Oman's Al Seeb in the AFC Cup final scheduled tomorow (Oct 22; 7pm) at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil, Kuala Lumpur. The team has come a long way since the city boys hogged the backpages of local dailes in the 80s and 90s, But the city outfit went through troubled times. Eleven years ago, the situation was so bad that a group of fans decided to start a Save KLFA campaign. To me, it was a humiliating moment for the administrators. Today, it's a different Kuala Lumpur football team. Firstly, it's a club (note the change in name) and secondly, it has marked its presence in the region. KL City FC has home advantage. While Al Seeb may be labelled as the favourites, deep down I believe Bojan Hodak's lads could win the title.  All the best to KL City FC and Al Seeb. Here's to a spectacular show. Is KL football finally safe? I would like to see what happens after GE15. This is because we've had individuals from different political af...

"Haresh, meet S.S Dhaliwal. It's like a name of a ship." I was in the midst of typing an article when Johnson Fernandez's voice broke the silence. Standing next to the then Malay Mail sports editor was a tall man clad in a turban. His name: Satwant Singh Dhaliwal. The year was 2001. It was my early days with the daily. The introduction took place when the Malay Mail crew shared the same office space with the New Straits Times - right at the far corner on the fourth floor of Balai Berita in Jalan Riong, Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur. Satwant already had a reputation of sorts prior to joining the newspaper. He was a respected hockey administrator, especially during his days with Yayasan Negeri Sembilan and the Negeri Sembilan state team. As a journalist, he stayed true to his byline: S.S. Dhaliwal - where his articles were similar to that of a large ship that simply cannot be missed. He has made good friends along the way. He also made enemies. As the saying goes, in life, you ...

  Politicians just seem to love sports. MCA president Datuk Seri Wee Ka Siong met ex-badminton stars Datuk Foo Kok Keong and Datuk Cheah Soon Kit at Wisma MCA in Kuala Lumpur yesterday. Wee presented both the former shuttlers a plaque each and congratulated them for receiving their Datukships. Here's what Wee posted on his Facebook page: "Datuk Foo was conferred the Panglima Jasa Negara (PJN) by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong earlier this year. Datuk Cheah received his Datukship, Darjah Panglima Mahkota Wilayah (PMW), in conjunction with the Federal Territory Day celebration last year." One got his Datukship last year, the other earlier this year. Now only want to give a plaque and congratulate? Wee must be a very busy man, eh. I would congratulate somebody almost immediately, and not wait months or over a year just to do so.  I mean if Wee wins his parliamentary seat in GE15, I'm sure he would want to congratulate him almost immediately, and not months or a year later, k...

I wrote about Datuk Seri Ti Lian Ker's move to contest in Kuantan on Sept 23 .  Ti, a lawyer, is MCA's vice-president and enjoys a close relationship with the Pahang royal household. Soon after, I received several phone calls from MCA folks informing me that their ex-president Tan Sri Liow Tiong Lai ( main image ) is eyeing to reclaim the Bentong Parliamentary seat. Liow was the incumbent MP for Bentong since 2008 but lost the seat to DAP’s Wong Tack in the 2018 General Election.  Nevertheless, 'Uncle Liow' seems to still be championing Bentong matters - based on what is reflected on his social media platforms. "But will MCA's top leadership allow Liow to contest in Bentong? Firstly, he lost there when he was president and secondly, certain quarters are afraid that if he wins, it will be seen as his comeback and he may then eye for the presidency post," said a ranking MCA official. Another official said: "Is he there most of his time, or his represent...

  Ah, Pandan Indah. I love heading there for the food. You can get pretty much everything there - nasi lemak, bah kut teh, roti canai, western food, Japanese delights, Thai treats and even Mongolian cuisine. The township hogged the spotlight after High-End Snooker Club, located in Pandan Kapital Mall, graciously offered to host not one, but five world competitions , and one Asian meet. This was reported by Kuala Lumpur news website, Twentytwo13. Yesterday, the Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Faizal Azumu ( main image) decided to drop by. He presented medals to the champion and runners-up of the World 6 Reds Championship. He also presented the Malaysian Snooker and Billiards Federation incentive to national cue artist, Lim Kok Leong for his achievement at the SEA Games in Vietnam. Lim pocketed RM8,000 for the one gold medal (RM5,000) and one silver medal (RM3,000) he won. In return, Ahmad Faizal received a token of appreciation from International Billiards and Snooker Fe...

I met some pals over dinner last night and one of them asked: "Bro, when Parliament gonna bubar. I wanna buy number." Another mate said 10.10, 11.10 or 12.10. "So buy 1010, 1110 and 1210 lah. Got it." I told them I don't know. Because the country is gearing up for an over a RM1 billion 'kenduri' (wedding reception, ie. GE15) but the groom doesn't even know who the bride is. The political parties are still struggling to find their 'jodoh', so it could end up as a wedding for all. I guess that's what "unity" is all about, eh. One thing is for sure - our Yang diPertuan Agong will be swearing in a Prime Minister for the third time (Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin on March 1, 2020 and Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob on Aug 21, 2021).  As such, Al-Sultan Abdullah would have interacted with four Prime Ministers - Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, Muhyiddin, Ismail Sabri and PM10 - during his time in Istana Negara. His tenure as Agong ends in some 400...

I received this press release from Real Chukai Football Club.  Pretty impressed that the Terengganu-based grassroots club has developed a sponsorship prospectus for the 2023 season, ahead of the upcoming Kuala Lumpur Sports Industry Expo 2022. The club will also participate in the expo as an exhibitor.  Such forward-thinking puts some of Real Chukai's more established peers to shame. Here's the full press statement: Real Chukai Football Club (“Real Chukai”) has recently completed the development of its sponsorship prospectus for season 2023. The directors have unanimously approved the sponsorship prospectus, which was developed together with the help of Linda Workroom. Real Chukai Chief Executive Officer, Amirrul Hakim Osman, said: "This is the first step in the process. We are now awaiting the financial audited report for 2022 which will be included within the prospectus." "This, however, is an important step, which will allow Real Chukai to concretely start wor...