Taekwondo: MTA floored again
2010/01/27THE Malaysian Taekwondo Association (MTA) has been been dealt another blow in its bid to get reinstated as a national body.
Following the MTA's suspension on March 18, 2009, an ad-hoc committee took over the former's role. It is chaired by Olympic Council of Malaysia president, Tunku Imran Tuanku Ja'afar.
The committee comprises representatives from OCM, Sports Ministry, National Sports Council, Education Ministry, MTA, Malaysian Taekwondo Federation and Malaysian Taekwondo Club Association.
As the issue remains unsolved the Sports Commissioner has decided to dissolve the ad-hoc committee. In its place, will be a pro-tem committee to be registered as a replacement body for MTA with the role of overseeing all taekwondo activities.
The committee comprises representatives from OCM, Sports Ministry, National Sports Council, Education Ministry, MTA, Malaysian Taekwondo Federation and Malaysian Taekwondo Club Association.
As the issue remains unsolved the Sports Commissioner has decided to dissolve the ad-hoc committee. In its place, will be a pro-tem committee to be registered as a replacement body for MTA with the role of overseeing all taekwondo activities.
This is the report which appeared in the New Straits Times today.
There was also some comments made on this blog regarding taekwondo over the last few days and have extracted part of one comment and it reads:
I want to talk about the pathethic state of affairs of Taekwando today.
Taekwando at one point was a popular sports in Malaysia and they have a very healthy program. What happened?
OCM decided that because of the warring faction between the 3 bodies or is it 4 bodies MTA,MTF,and the Clubs, OCM came in took over their affairs and tried to form an umbrella body. OCM President was the ad hoc chairman.
Let me ask you, what happened to this ad hoc committee formed by OCM? You know the answer, nothing and the Games was kicked out of SUKMA.
Let me ask you , why did OCM interferred into matters that does not concern them. Now that they have adopted a hot potato and realise that they cannot handle the situation, they decided to drop it and blame it on Taekwando.
I am sad that the issue had been dragged for so long and the one suffering are the exponents.
But officials of taekwando from MTA do not seem to be bothered about that because they are more interested about themselves and their powers.
I would like here to say that I by chance was personally involved in trying to resolve this issue four years ago.
I am not taking any sides here, but based on my personal experience, I am merely stating my personal observations and feelings on the matter.
But several meetings with all parties concerned - MTA, Malaysian Teakwondo Federation (MTF) and Malaysian Taekwondo Club Association(MTCA) - the consensus was reached that in the interest of the sports, that all three Associations will be dissolved and a new Association will be formed with representation of all three parties.
However, after all the agreement, when it came to the crux of the matter at a meeting with the then Sports Commissioner, Tan Sri Elyas Omar, it was back to square one - stalemate!
So what happened?
In all fairness to MTF and MTCA, they readily agreed to dissolve their Associations and join the new Association with a fair representation for their respective body.
However, one official from MTA suddenly changed his tune and was the stumbling block and the meeting ended in another stalemate!
This same official recently had agreed for MTA to be suspended and an Ad-Hoc committee to be named by the Sports Commissioner, which eventually saw Olympic Council of Malaysia president, Tunku Tan Sri Imran Almarhum Tuanku Ja'afar, named as the ad-hoc committee chairman.
Now another scenario has emerged - the State Taekwondo Associations of Selangor, Pahang, Penang, Sarawak and Terengganu, are against the formation of the new Association.
It is learnt that there is a meeting this Friday to once and for all to find out the grouses of these States and persuade them stand down and resolve the issues at hand.
Failing which, it is learnt a group of taekwondo enthusiasts from these States who are really interested to resolve the issues of the sport, will form a new State organisation and get themselves registered with the Sports Commissioner's Office and eventually, join the new national Taekwondo Association.
An insider in the sports said that this time around, the problems of Taekwondo will be resolved once and for all.
It is about time.
It is sincerely hoped that for the love and interest of sports, rather than personal and vested interest, everyone concerned with work together for one common cause - the interest of the sports and the athletes!
3 comments:
Tony, this are the officials whom only wants benefit for themselves. Power crazy officials whom kill the atheletes and sports.
I hope the Sports Commissioner will get to the bottom of it.
AG.
Level Field, The die is already cast and there is no point crying over spilled milk. Perhaps now is the time to revisit Taekwando and perhaps learn the lesson from Taekwando. Before we go into that I want to tell you that personally I am quite surprised by the decision of the SC and perhaps he knows more than what we the people on the ground do. Knowing Dato Nik he is meticulous and one who investigates before he decides and I tell you why.
We all know that in the SDA the conduct of any taekwando tournament you will have to follow the rules of the IF. The IF recognised by the IOC is the World Taekwando Federation and whatever competitions that you hold have to comply with the rules and regulations of the IF. By that I mean not only the athletes but the refrees too. If your insider information tells you that the problems of Taekwando will be resolved once and for all, then I dare to bet my bottom dollar that SC's new Taekwando Association would have checked with the IF, World Taekwando Federation, and that they will recognised this new body as the NSA governing the Sport of Taekwando.
Why is this important? Taekwando is in the mainstream Olympic Sports, tell me how do you think OCM is going to send a team to the Asian Games or the Olympics without the sanction of the NSA? So my guess is WTF has already agreed to recognised this new body as the NSA, that is why the bold move.
Say if the SC is wrong and he did not check with the IF, tell me Level Field, how is this new body going to conduct its championships? Under what rules are they going to use when Section 34 of the SDA clearly states that you have to use the Rules and refrees or officials of the IF? Level Field, certainly you are not going to get a Silat Karate or Wushu refrees to judge these competitions or are you?
The Grand old man once remarked Martial arts is martial arts why the need of so many. Poomsae in TKD and Katas in Karate are they not the same? This you figure it out and looking at it in a holistic way, the old man in OCM is not wrong.
Okay WTF is not FIFA, but I think you know what happened to Brunei and Iran when the Government tried to removed FIFA recognised member. Sepp Blatter the Chairman personally chaired the meeting and told those 2 countries to get out of FIFA and they are banned from FIFA organised games.
Assuming WTF were to take this stand to ban Malaysia what is the SC going to do? Do not forget that at the Games the technical aspect of the Games are controlled by the IF governing the Sports. Will OCM then send an OCM Team to Laos? Is this correct in the first place?
Level Field do not kid yourself that those who are in the Sport does not love the sport, they do and I dare say all of them love the sport. What you need to realise is there is the politics of things and the power to control the sport.
Look at it this way who are the NSA in Taekwando before this fisco? MTA right? Who are these MTF and GTF and the Taekwando Clubs people? Aprat from MTF, the Global and the Club Boys are breakaway group from MTA. They are the rebel groups who has decided that enough is enough we also wants a piece of the action. They got themselves registered with the SC and then OCM got into the picture and all hell break loose.These rebels have nothing to lose. MTA is not without fault, the silliest thing they did was to take up legal action against OCM and SC. No one in the Government sympathises with them. The Grand old man is the first to grin like a Cheshire Cat.
Enough said, lets look forward and hope like the proverbial Phoenix, Taekwando in Malaysia can rise from its ashes.
On International Federation, can a body as of right gets affiliation with an International Federation as of right. Well it all depends on the sport concern and how strong are the International Federation and how popular is the sport.
Those are are keen in the sport will take the troble to contact the International Federation and tell them we would like to be the representative of your sport.
The IF will probably be very happy that a smal country practises their sport or their sport is played there.
Like International Skating Union they will tell give you the criteria and the dos and don't if you want to represent their body in Malaysia.
What happen is a partnership based on trust that is formented by the local body and the IF. The IF are the expert and they will lay all the parameters of the sports from memberships , referees to the athletes and membership is the most important criteria here.
To participate in a TKD competition we must be a member of the NSA. The membership is not just paying a few ringgit to the NSA. It means more than that, it means you are in the Association and you are deem to know the rules of the Games.
OCM somehow thinks that membershiop is not important , you participate in the MTA National ranking, if you are selected to go for the Games then only you need to join.
To the Grand old man, it is alright if you a Karate ka in a kumite(Body contact sparring) , you can join Taekwando. To them they are fighting one another, after all the rose by any other name smells just as sweet.
Say the karate boy who took part in a TKD competition decided to kick the TKD boy in between his legs. Can TKD official ban him or disqualify him. If you penalise the chap , he will say that I am not your member, how do you expect me to know your rules.
This is the state of affairs of the Grand Emperor from OCM has decreed.
My point in this mail is the rules and regulations by the IF and the SDA are all there to follow. The problems is when they are broken and not followed that is where the problem lies.
Coming back to the IF and NSA, this relationship is one of trust and confidence. The IF will not grant membership to anyone whom they have no confidence to promote their sport. OCM or SC or if you are sovereign nation, they really do not care two hoots. Brunei and Iran are classic examples.
OCM has lost its plot altogether and this is a tragedy and the manner things are portrayed as though they are blameless in this Taekwando fiasco.
In November 2009 Tunku Imran in a Sports Asia conference made a very important point on International Federation and how it can help NSA.
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