Foul!

Haresh Says, as published in The Malay Mail today. ONE was a nation with a rich history that had just undergone a cultural revolution. The other was a new country, eager to progress quickly. Both had differing ideologies but came together through a simple game of table-tennis. The Malaysian table-tennis team was invited to Beijing in 1971 to participate in the Asia-Africa-Latin America tournament. It was dubbed the “Ping-Pong diplomacy”. Three years later, Malaysia established formal ties with China – the first Asean country to do so despite differing political views. Former national champion Soong Poh Wah remembers the tournament well. He was 21 when he participated in the historical meet. “All of us enjoyed our stay. It was a well-organised tournament and China was a gracious host,” recalled Soong, 64. “They (organisers) arranged gatherings and even took us around, including visiting the Great Wall of China and the Forbidden City. It was a memo...

Haresh Says, as published in Mailsport today. "WHAT'S happening."   That was always the first thing Joe Marcose would say each time we met or spoke over the phone.   And every time I paid him a visit at his office at Wisma FAM, he would say: "Come sit down lah."   It didn't matter if I was in a rush or had time to kill. He would insist that I sat and discuss about the latest in football, sports and the media. And when I got overly critical over a particular subject, he would usually end the conversation by saying "what to do" followed by a smile.   Joe headed FA of Malaysia's (FAM) media department. Prior to his stint with the national body, he was the media man for the Olympic Council of Malaysia and spent many years with Utusan Malaysia. He started as a cadet reporter on June 1, 1984 before quitting as the daily's sports editor on Nov 1, 2000. Former journo Rosmanizam Abdullah had known Joe since the early 80s. "Wh...

Tan Pek Wan , The Malay Mail's trusted computer 'wizard' for over a dozen years, died yesterday (at 5.03pm) at the University Malaya Medical Centre after a long illness. She was 62. A popular figure on the editorial floor, Pek Wan, as she was popularly known, was greatly sought after by everyone who ran into problems with their computers. Pek Wan roamed the editorial floor with an air of authority and ability to quick-fix the system almost every time the computers crashed. She came out of retirement from the New Straits Times in Balai Berita, Jalan Riong in Bangsar, in 2008 to serve The Malay Mail when it was relaunched in 2009. She brought to The Malay Mail 40 years of experience, having started as an accounts clerk until her retirement as systems assistant manager in 2007. Self-taught in IT, Pek Wan specialised in several editorial management systems during her long service with the New Straits Times and The Malay Mail . Her wake is ...

“It is amazing how we demand for transparency from the government, lambast politicians about cronyism but choose to close an eye when it comes to our neighbourhood. I guess we are all hypocrites.” Susan is ever ready to pay for a secured neighbourhood, perhaps to pei min (give face) to her neighbours rather than anything else.   But she will not cave in to neighbourhood thuggery, where a group of residents suddenly decide to play little Napoleons and go against the guidelines.   She is tired of being bullied by the irresponsible few who make those who adhere to the law seem to be the bad ones.   Many out there face the same predicament as Susan. Let’s hope the local authorities ensure justice is served to those living in their community.  Read more in Haresh Says, as published in The Malay Mail today .

Haresh Says, as published in Mailsport today. IT was supposed to be a trip to Legoland. Instead, former Kelantan coach Bojan Hodak — who donned a Johor shirt — was seen seated next to football pundit Serbegeth Singh (aka Shebby) at the VIP area in Larkin Stadium during the Johor Darul Takzim (JDT)-Selangor match on Saturday night. As Hodak and Shebby watched the Southern Tigers maul the Red Giants 4-1, fans pondered if there were moves to replace JDT coach Cesar Ferrando Jiminez after the FA Cup quarterfinal return leg match against Kedah at Darulaman Stadium tonight. JDT seem uncomfortable being placed sixth in the Super League after five matches. With an interesting line-up — from the likes of former Argentinean international Pablo Aimar, Luciano Figueroa to national players Norshahrul Idlan Talaha, Safee Sali and Safiq Rahim — it is only natural to expect good results from the team. Sources claimed the Croatian met Johor FA officials and it is “pretty much a done deal”. So what’s ...

...the changes brought about in Johor football have been amazing. From a well maintained field to electronic boards that surround it, Larkin Stadium is now dubbed as one of the best stadias in the country. The players are well taken care while the Southern Tigers have a rather impressive website. All this happened during Tunku Ismail’s reign as Johor FA’s president. But the spirit of football is not just based on modern facilities and money. It is about fair play and sportsmanship. It applies across the board — royalty and commoner. Let us not drag the holy and sacred Quran into this fiasco. Football has its own rules and regulations, and that must be upheld. Referring to the scuffle between Pahang and JDT fans last Friday, Tunku Ismail, was quoted in an article “Be ethical, not theatrical” on Johor FA's website saying: “This cacophony of bickering, provocation, insults and humiliation would not bring any benefit and may result with rancor to no end.” Spot on. The M-League does no...

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 ...

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...

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...

The Selangor government announced in May it had reserves touching RM2.8 billion. During the tabling of the 2014 Budget at the Selangor state assembly last month, Menteri Besar Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim revealed the state government had allocated RM2.28 billion. Effective tomorrow, Khalid, elected representatives, executive council members, Speaker and deputy Speaker will receive massive pay hikes. Khalid’s pay will increase by 106 per cent, from the present RM14,175 to RM29,250 while the salaries of the exco members will shoot up to 231 per cent (from RM6,109 to RM20,250). One would think Selangor has got it right with plenty of cash to splurge. Wrong! This is a state, that despite the billions in its coffers, had failed to address simple issues like the pot-hole ridden roads in Hulu Langat, faulty street lights in Ampang to failing to maintain hockey stadiums in Pandamaran and Petaling Jaya. The pitches of both stadiums were pathetic. In fact, the Pandaraman hockey stadium was ...

Below are several paragraphs taken from Mailsport editor Tony Mariadass' column Level Field published in the paper today: Another seven (KLFA) players are expected to be hauled up today and could well face similar action. (bans or suspensions)  What’s puzzling is that KLFA let the sponsor have a say in the hiring of the coach and players and even in managing the team when it is clearly stated by FAM that the team must be managed by the association. So, KLFA knew something was amiss, but did nothing about it, including curtailing the powers of the sponsor. To call KLFA poor would be a misstatement. KLFA manages the stadium and only pays booking fees to City Hall. Maintenance of the stadium is shouldered by City Hall. KLFA also get financial aid from City Hall. It is also learnt that the developer had given KLFA a condominium, but whether there are any returns from the property is unclear. Then, there is revenue from billboards also acquired during Elyas’ tenure, and surely ...