COMMENTARY
Level Field
INDEED the election for the president’s post in the FA of Malaysia (FAM) on Mar 25 has become as intriguing as its analogue in the political arena.
While former Kelantan FA
president Tan Sri Annuar Musa has confirmed acceptance of his nomination, the
other three — Tunku Mahkota of Johor (TMJ) Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim,
Putrajaya Corporation president and FAM integrity committee chairman Tan Sri
Aseh Che Mat, and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin — have yet to do so.
The deadline for acceptance is
Monday and the final list of contestants is to be announced a week later.
While TMJ seems to be the
choice of 14 affiliates who were granted an audience by Sultan Ibrahim Ibni
Almarhum Sultan Iskandar of Johor, at which they sought his approval of his
son’s candidature, the latter has yet to officially submit his acceptance to
FAM.
Aseh and Khairy, too, have not
submitted their acceptance forms. This has caused much guessing as to what is
in store.
One person who could well play
‘kingmaker’ in the polls is current secretary-general Datuk Hamidin Mohd Amin.
It is learnt Hamidin, who has
been nominated for deputy president, is withdrawing.
If that happens, a role for him
as strategist comes into play, as he is expected to be retained as
secretary-general by the new president who takes over from the incumbent, the
Regent of Pahang, Tengku Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah, who is stepping down.
Hamidin enjoys strong support
from the affilliates and is poised to play an influential role in the polls.
Although 14 affiliates — Sabah,
Sarawak, Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Terengganu, Kedah, Perlis, Armed Forces,
Malacca, Johor, Malaysian Malays Football Association, Malaysian Chinese
Football Association, Malaysian Indian Sports Council and Malaysian Coaches Association
— have shown support for TMJ, in FAM’s politics what is apparent is not
necessarily what really pans out.
Last minute switches of
allegiance are common as history has demonstrated.
Six of FAM’s 20 affiliates did
not attend the gathering in Johor, namely Negri Sembilan, Kelantan, Perak,
Police, Penang and Pahang.
Does that mean they do not
support TMJ?
This is where Hamidin could
play a key role with the camp he backs.
While several scenarios are
being sketched out, an antidote for this head-twirling maneuvering was put
forth by Professor Emeritus Datuk Dr. A.E. Delilkan, a respected figure in
Malaysian cricket and the medical profession.
He summarised his advice on
sports administration in general and sports leadership as follows:
Bring meritocracy as a basis
for selection of sportsmen/women to represent the nation.
Former national/international
players should organise and run the game and not influential
non-sportsmen/women.
Delilkan’s leadership formula
for national sports associations is as follows:
For president: A respected
national figure, a national leader — from royalty, politics, or philanthropy.
Purpose of the president: to
attract sponsorship.
The president should not be
involved in the running of the game, for example, in the selection of
coaches/trainers or players to represent the country
There
should be two sub-divisions
for officials:
for officials:
1.
Administrative chief or CEO (preferably a business personality)
• To run all business aspects (funding, sponsorship)
• To run organisation of sports meetings/tournaments
• Should not be involved in the running of the game (selection etc)
2.
Director/coordinator of the game/sport
• Independent decision makers (no connection with influential
personalities who might not know which end of the bat/racquet to hold or are
more adept at making a racket of situations for their personal agendas.
• A former sports icon (preferably a former national player/former
foreign sports icon second choice)
• In charge of and responsible for selection of players to represent
the country, oversee selection committee comprising former national/state
players
• To ensure player selection based on meritocracy, oversee coaching,
training, management, development programmes to maintain and improve the game.
Indeed food for thought but how many NSA’s will take heed of his advice?
Indeed food for thought but how many NSA’s will take heed of his advice?
TONY is a sports
journalist with close to
four decades’ experience
and is passionate about
local sports.
He can be reached at
tmariadass@gmail.com
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