Foul!

This ' letter ' appeared on Malay Mail Online yesterday. For the record, Malay Mail (newspaper) and Malay Mail Online are run by two different teams. NOVEMBER 5 — Late last week Datuk Dr Ramlan Aziz of the National Sports Institute (NSI) made a comment that for the failed drug tests that have occurred recently, “we should not blame the only the athletes only”. He said the coaches, managers and the association should also take the blame. What he said is true, but he missed out one important entity. The NSI, the organisation of which he is the head. This is the organisation that is entrusted to scientifically prepare and take care of the athletes. The NSI was given millions ringgit worth of facilities prior to the 1998 commonwealth games in the hope of giving it and the Malaysian athletes a huge boost. Where does it stand now? For a good majority of the past 16 years, he has been the head of NSI ... much longer than the outgoing NSC director. There has not been any major breakt...

National Sports Institute (NSI) chief executive officer Dr Ramlan Aziz stressed the cramps suffered by world No. 1 shuttler Lee Chong Wei was a genuine case due to the lack of ventilation at the Tianhe Sports Center in Guangzhou, China. The air-conditioning in the hall was switched off during the second set in the World Championships men’s singles final between host player Lin Dan and Lee. Lee, who had won 21-16 in the first set before going down 21-12 in the second set, was trailing 20-17 before calling it quits. Lee had to stop play earlier and was attended to by the tournament doctor. He, however, continued to play only to retire due to cramps. Later he was rushed to the hospital and was put on intravenous drips. Lee was discharged late Sunday night. “I cannot understand when people say it was another drama. No it wasn’t,” said Dr Ramlan. Read more in The Malay Mail today. HD says: Only in sports, where your 'opponent' will run to you and give you a helping hand.

Some called it a "penderitaan". Some said have to "siapkan kotak". There are those who blame it on Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin for "main sentimen kekeluargaan" (don't quite understand what that is suppose to mean). It looks several individuals within the National Sports Institute were not too excited over the return of         Dr Ramlan Aziz as its chief executive officer. The announcement was made yesterday, as reported by  Mailsport . Dr Ramlan is to report for duty on June 17 while Ahmad Shapawi will enter into the Sports Commisioner's Office on the same day. Not the welcome Dr Ramlan had hoped for? Read what Ramlan and Ahmad Shapawi have to say of their new roles in today's Mailsport . HD says: Anyone knows of a good ENT?

Anti-Doping Agency Malaysia (Adamas) chief Dr Ramlan Aziz (pic) will return to the National Sports Institute (NSI) as its chief executive officer. Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin is expected to make the announcement today.  Mailsport was informed that current NSI CEO Ahmad Shapawi Ismail will be made Sports Commissioner (SC). Read the full report in today's Mailsport .

Having spent a day asking around and speaking to various folks - from writers, Youth and Sports Ministry insiders to observers, here are some of the names that could turn out to be the new Sports Commissioner (in no particular order) - as published on the backpage of The Malay Mail today. 1. Ab Jalil Abdullah, National Sports Council (NSC) sports management director    - it will be seen as a promotion for the S54 grade officer. Has the expertise but mainly on elite sports. Sports Commissioner's Office is also about mass sports. It would finally be the break he deserves as time (or rather age) is not on his side. 2. Madzrib Ibrahim, Registrar of Youth Societies    - an unknown among those outside the ministry but Madzrib was apparently "groomed for bigger things" only to be placed in cold storage as he does not click well with certain top officials. He once served as a deputy director general for the sports development division within the ministry and is curren...

UPDATE May 22 : Dr Ramlan likely to remain as sports advisor as published in Mailsport . ---- He was the former National Sports Council director general. He went on to lead the National Sports Institute before he was asked to play advisor to Sports Minister Ahmad Shabery Cheek. So will Dr Ramlan Aziz continue to serve in that position? Or will he just concentrate on being the Anti doping Agency Malaysia chief? While some continue to criticise his management skills, Ramlan is a known figure in the local sporting scene and enjoys good rapport with most of the national athletes. Ramlan is also among the very few senior officials within the Youth and Sports Ministry with an impressive academic background and resume. He has logical ideas. It will be a shame if Ramlan is restricted to just Adamas alone for he certainly has plenty more to offer. To those unware of Ramlan's exit from the Natioanl Sports Institute, read  Another coup d'etat?  and  Ramlan saga - Part ...

UPDATE 2.29pm : Local athletes still using banned substance, says Dr Ramlan Aziz as reported here . Also, Malaysian Cycling Federation deputy president Naim Mohammad rubbished suggestions cycling should be removed from the Olympics as seen here . ------ Below is the observation made by former National Sports Council & National Sports Institute director general (later CEO) Dr Ramlan Aziz over Lance Armstrong's ( pic ) admission. Ramlan is currently the special advisor to the Youth and Sports Minister. "Lance Armstrong's candid admission to Oprah Winfrey is a mind-boggling revelation indeed. After all that time, money and effort spent in trying to defend himself, he finally came clean. Jaws on the ground time, this is...as Yoda would say. The non-analytical findings gleaned from a well-concerted effort by US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), International Cycling Union (UCI) and World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) to dig deeper and investigate "sampai lubang cac...

"My appointment opens the way for the new CEO of ISN to concentrate on the administrative and financial management aspects.  My appointment underscores YB Minister's seriousness ineffecting innovative ideas into launching Malaysian sports performance to a higher level and to glean sustainable success through application of science and technology in high performance sport and the provision of world class healthcare and injury management plus antidoping for our national athletes.  My task generally is to oversee the strategic planning, implementation and effective monitoring & evaluation of systems, processes and putting in place the right culture for Malaysian athletes to excel and succeed on the world stage in a sustainable and meaningful way.  The benefits of all this work at high performance level should also be harnessed usefully to benefit society at large in terms of improving health and social indices towards a progressive, harmonious and heal...

UPDATE 1.20pm: Just got off the phone with Ahmad Shapawi and this is what he said; Yes I have received a letter of the new appointment starting August 16 but I'm in the midst of finalising my work at the National Sports Council including our paralympian's campaign at the Paralympic Games in London.  I'll be meeting the NSI staff on August 16 and hear them out to see how we can work closely together.   ---- And before I forget, congratulations to Ahmad Shapawi Ismail who will take over as the new National Sports Institute CEO from the acting CEO on August 16. That was taken from Satwant Singh Dhaliwal's blog posting published earlier today. Ahmad Shapawi ( pic ) could not be reached as he is in the midst of a meeting. As stressed before, the person replacing Dr Ramlan Aziz as the National Sports Institute (NSI) CEO is secondary. What remains unclear is to why Ramlan was asked to quit the hot seat? - a question which no one seems to have an answer. If ...

I was called in as a witness for the on-going National Sports Council - Mesuma trial at the KL High Court in Jalan Duta earlier this morning. Also called in as witnesses for the morning session were Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) vice president cum National Sports Council board member Low Beng Choo, OCM honorary secretary Sieh Kok Chi and National Sports Institute chief executive officer Dr Ramlan Aziz. I just couldn't stop smiling... HD says : I'm still smiling....

National Sports Institute chief executive officer Dr Ramlan Aziz has been asked to leave the hot seat - yet again. Apparently he was supposed to be the Sports Medicine Division Director on June 15. The letter was said to be signed by Sports Ministry's secretary-general Mohid Mohamed ( pic ), who apparently felt a little "cold" when he was called as a witness in the first day of the National Sports Council-Mesuma case (tiger-stripe issue) at the Jalan Duta courtroom yesterday. It is learnt that Dr Yeo Wee Kian has been asked to stand in as the temporary CEO. Ramlan confirmed the re-designation on Astro Awani's (501) 1pm bulletin yesterday but declined to speak further. He believes he is still the CEO until he receives a direction from the Sports Minister, Ahmad Shabery Cheek, as stated in the NSI Act 2011. However, Ramlan believes he has "not exhausted all options." It remains unclear to why Ramlan is being ask to vacate the seat for there has n...

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...

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...

National Sports Institute (NSI) Dr Ramlan Aziz ( pic ) stressed officials from National Sports Associations and coaches can do more in educating their athletes when it comes to dealing with prohibited drugs. Ramlan lambasted certain officials for their lackadaisical attitude adding the NSI can only do so much. In his own words: "Some don't care while there are those who are ever willing to sweep things under a musty old carpet that stinks of fish!" Read more in today's Mailsport . HD says: Some officials will also protect their athletes when they miss anti-doping tests. Sigh!

I remember speaking to National Sports Institute's director general Dr Ramlan Aziz ( pic ) about the possibility of him penning down his thoughts in a regular column in The Malay Mail some time ago. Ramlan had approached other establishments as well and I believe he felt the New Straits Times would be a better platform for him to air his views. Perhaps he was right as it is a nation-wide daily after all. In yesterday's column, Ramlan wrote about our national shuttlers - mainly Koo Kien Keat and Tan Boon Heong. Read What ails our shuttlers? The BA of Malaysia, meanwhile, admitted better plans and programmes are needed for the national shuttlers. BAM president Nadzmi Salleh was quoted as saying; “It is not about blaming anyone. In BAM, we do not blame anyone but we find ways to overcome problems and to provide solutions so that we can achieve better results. It is the same way in business too." Read more here . HD says: Let history guide us to sha...