DATUK TAHA ARIFFIN, Malaysia's Chef-de-mission to the Hirsohima Asian
Games, is the man with the Midas touch, at least where Sarawak soccer is
concerned.
He is responsible for transforming the backwater state into a soccer
powerhouse and many are hoping Taha will lend that golden touch to the
Asian Games contingent.
But the modest and softspoken Taha prefers to keep a low profile and
motivate the contingent in his own way.
"I certainly don't have a magic wand. Whatever was achieved with Sarawak
soccer was through hard work and over a period of time," said Taha.
"Besides, with Sarawak soccer it is just one sports. We are competing in
18 events in the Asian Games.
Motivate
"Then again, each sport has had its own preparation and the role of the
chef-de-mission is very different from being involved directly with just a
sports.
"Nevertheless, I intend to do my best to motivate the athletes to give
their best," he said.
Taha is honoured to lead the Malaysian contingent to a pretigious event
like the Asian Games.
"I was really surprised when I was first nominated as the chef-de-
mission.
"I intend to take the appointment as a challenge and do my best to help
the athletes in Japan," he said.
Taha said the national training camp in Shah Alam was one area where he
had helped to motivate the athletes.
"The stint at the national training camp was an important one. Instead
of going as individual sports for the Games, we have managed to instill a
family unity among them.
"The odds are stacked against us but will fight on.
"The athletes are aware they are not representing their sports or
themselves but the whole nation. They are also aware that discipline is
the key to success."
Taha does not want to put any undue pressure on the athletes.
"They have all worked hard and long to prepare for the Games. I am sure
they want to do well.
"But at the end of the day it is going to be a team effort as we have
have to be united in our effort and support and encourage each other,
especially since we are competing away from home," said Taha.
In the last Games in Beijing, Malaysia won two goal medals in
sepaktakraw (regu and team) while the silvers came from men's badminton
and swimmer Jeffery Ong.
The bronze medals came from Rashid Sidek (singles) and Razip-Jalani
Sidek (doubles) in badminton, the men's hockey team and women's athletics
4x400m relay team.
Taha will be assisted by Ho Koh Chye, the National Sports Council deputy
director general, who is the assistant chef-de-mission.
BIODATA
Name: Datuk Taha Ariffin
Age : 51
Place of Birth: Kuching, Sarawak.
Position: A Lawyer who has been invloved with the Sarawak State Government
for many years. He was the secretary to the Ministry of Social Development
of Sarawak before being appointed Deputy State Secretary three years ago.
He is the Deputy-President of the Football Association of Sarawak and an
FA of Malaysia vice-president. He is also a member of the excecutive
council of the Olympic Council of Malaysia.
He is the chef-de-mission to the Hiroshima Asian Games.
(END)Tuesday, September 27, 1994
Man with the Midas touch (The Malay Mail)
Where states are as guilty (26/09/1994 - The Malay Mail)
Publication : MM
Date : 26/09/1994
Headline : Where states are as guilty
JUDGING by the State FAs registration list for next month's Malaysia Cup
competition, it's being left to the FA of Malaysia to fight the bribery
allegations.
What else can anyone deduce, because after many State FAs stating that
matches have been fixed in this years Premier League, and given a
opportunity to clean up their respective teams by allowing them fresh
registration for the Malaysia Cup competition (utilising players from the
Reserve League), they have still decided to stick with the same players
who played in the Premier League.
Except for Sabah, who have left out their first choice goalkeeper M.
Pavalamani, the rest of the States had only used the new registration to
include two more players because the registration number is now 22 instead
of 20, or filling players for injured or banned ones.
It only underlines that State FAs would join in the bandwagon to say
matches have been fixed and even mention names of their players whom they
think are fixing matches, but when it comes to the crunch of things, they
back out.
It only goes to show that most States FA will not do anything drastic to
jeopordise their teams chances in the Malaysia Cup competition.
Of course, most State FAs will argue that they cannot take action
without ample proof of bribery allegations on their players, but if they
seriously believe that their players have been cheating on them, why dont
they just leave them out.
Sabah has done it, but just to one player, although many more were
suspected.
But at least they have taken a bold step compared to the rest who rather
sit back and see others like the Police or the Anti-Coruption Agency (ACA)
do the dirty job for them.
If the State FAs do not help or initiate the move, it will definitely be
difficult for the Police or the ACA to act.
States will also argue that players are contracted and they cannot
terminate their contracts all of a sudden.
If State FAs are really serious about cleaning up the Malaysia soccer,
there should be no BUTS.
Surely, the State FA can leave the player out of the registration list
but still keep him on their payroll until the contract is over.
And if the player does not show up for training just because he has been
left out of the Malaysia Cup competition, they will have a reason to sack
the player, as was in the case of Pavalamani.
Date : 26/09/1994
Headline : Where states are as guilty
JUDGING by the State FAs registration list for next month's Malaysia Cup
competition, it's being left to the FA of Malaysia to fight the bribery
allegations.
What else can anyone deduce, because after many State FAs stating that
matches have been fixed in this years Premier League, and given a
opportunity to clean up their respective teams by allowing them fresh
registration for the Malaysia Cup competition (utilising players from the
Reserve League), they have still decided to stick with the same players
who played in the Premier League.
Except for Sabah, who have left out their first choice goalkeeper M.
Pavalamani, the rest of the States had only used the new registration to
include two more players because the registration number is now 22 instead
of 20, or filling players for injured or banned ones.
It only underlines that State FAs would join in the bandwagon to say
matches have been fixed and even mention names of their players whom they
think are fixing matches, but when it comes to the crunch of things, they
back out.
It only goes to show that most States FA will not do anything drastic to
jeopordise their teams chances in the Malaysia Cup competition.
Of course, most State FAs will argue that they cannot take action
without ample proof of bribery allegations on their players, but if they
seriously believe that their players have been cheating on them, why dont
they just leave them out.
Sabah has done it, but just to one player, although many more were
suspected.
But at least they have taken a bold step compared to the rest who rather
sit back and see others like the Police or the Anti-Coruption Agency (ACA)
do the dirty job for them.
If the State FAs do not help or initiate the move, it will definitely be
difficult for the Police or the ACA to act.
States will also argue that players are contracted and they cannot
terminate their contracts all of a sudden.
If State FAs are really serious about cleaning up the Malaysia soccer,
there should be no BUTS.
Surely, the State FA can leave the player out of the registration list
but still keep him on their payroll until the contract is over.
And if the player does not show up for training just because he has been
left out of the Malaysia Cup competition, they will have a reason to sack
the player, as was in the case of Pavalamani.
Wednesday, August 31, 1994
Heading Nowhere (The Malay Mail)
ANOTHER Olympic soccer squad for the 1996 Atlanta Games have been named
and are now training in France and coincidentally, a national team have
also been named at the same time for the Hiroshima Asian Games in October.
One may ask what have the two squads in common?
The answer should matter a great deal because in most countries, their
Olympic squads have seen many of their players promoted to the national
squads.
But sadly in Malaysia, it has always not been the case.
Time and again, we have the Olympic squad or the Tigers or back-up squad
... call them by whatever name, but they are supposed to be feeder squads.
But most of the time, we find that millions of ringgit are spent on
these feeder squads, only to see these players never realising their full
potential or are neglected halfway and failing to make the national squad.
It was no different when the Asian Games squad were named.
Only four players from the "Barcelona Babes" made the national squad.
They are strikers Azman Adnan and Ong Kim Swee, midfielder Yap Wai Loon
and defender Chong King Kong, who was a striker with the squad then.
Whatever happened to the 24 odd players who had trained for 18 months
for the Barcelona pre-Olympic tournament and featured in more than 80
local and international matches - where close to one million ringgit was
spent on them!
Most of these players are still playing with their respective States,
but they are suddenly not good enough to make the grade for the senior
national team.
One would ask what had happened along the way? Many reasons come to
mind.
One of them is that the Barcelona Olympic squad were not retained after
their assignment.
This is nothing new because since the Tigers squad were formed in the
early 80s, we have often been told that they would be our future national
team but only to see a few of the players being promoted midway and the
rest of them left out.
And each time a national coach was named, he would pick the cream of
players to have a mixed squad and more players were lost in the process.
Then of course, the players themselves have to be blamed. Their Olympic
status are upgraded the moment they finish their assignments and State FAs
would pay high wages to secure them.
Therein lies the problem because players who are only 21 suddenly get to
enjoy the luxuries of life and soon get carried away and forget all about
professionalism.
Among the players from the 1991 Olympic squad who have not made the cut
are Chong Kim Boon, Mohamad Firos Mohamed, Othman Katmon, Chee Wan Hoe,
Salahuddin Che Ros, Saziman Ismail, Ahmad Fauzi Ibrahim, Ghazali Ismail,
V. Thinagaran, G. Karthekayan, Loius Jakai, Wong Kok Sum, Abu Bakar
Ismail, Edres Selamat, Lee Thean Ewe, Mubin Mokhtar, Malek Rahman, Adnan
Ibrahim, Azmi Ahmad and Mohamad Riduan Abdul Rafar.
It is hoped that the same fate does not befall this Olympic squad
because we will only be going through the motion all over again without
heading anywhere.
(END)
Thursday, August 18, 1994
Spoilt brats! (17/08/1994 - The Malay Mail)
Publication : MM
Date : 17/08/1994
Headline : Spoilt brats!
SOCCER players in the country are fast gaining a reputation as an
ungrateful and spoilt lot.
And with news fast spreading that soccer players are into `fixing
matches' these days, their reputation has deteriorated further.
Indeed, a majority of the local soccer players hardly know the word
`professional'.
The players claim to be professionals because the game has now become
their bread and butter in Malaysia but everything is just a cosmetic
change.
The players are as amateur as they were before the game went semi-pro in
1989 and professional this year.
Soccer players earn anything between RM1,000 and RM15,000 per month
without any proper academic qualifications.
A graduate from a university expects to earn about RM800 to RM1,000 in
his first job.
Soccer players train about for a maximum of two to three hours for five
days a week and play 90 minutes of soccer at the end of the week. A normal
wage earner works between seven and ten hours a day and his wages do not
even come close to soccer players.
Even a doctor who does locum tenons is paid only about RM130 to RM160
for a seven to eight-hour job when a soccer player who earns an average of
RM6,000 gets about RM200 for two to three hours of training a day.
And some of them do not even have the Sijil Rendah Pendidikan (SRP or
LCE)!
But the players sadly are not as professional as the doctors or other
skilled workers doing their jobs.
Soccer players have fancy cars, luxurious homes, spend quite a bit on
entertainment and, in short, live life on the fast lanes and come under
the high society bracket.
Of course the players defend their high wages by saying that they have a
short playing career and they have to earn high wages now to support
themselves later.
All this is fine, if they go about their jobs (playing the game) with
all sincerity and commitment.
Mockery
But most of the time, half of the professionals take the State FAs of
even the national body for a ride.
They play when want to and take it easy when they feel like it.
And at the end of the day, the losers, besides the game itself, are the
fans who fork out their hard earned wages to watch these players make a
mockery of themselves.
And to add salt to the injury, some players are involved with the fixing
of matches and, in the process, earning some unbelievable sums of money by
cheating the public and the soccer administrators.
Sometimes, one begins to wonder if these players have such a greed for
money just to maintain their high profile and expensive lifestyles.
Worst of all, these players do not justify their high salaries by trying
to put up a decent performance.
And at the end of the season, the players market themselves and the
State FAs fall for their tricks whereby they will haggle with other States
to secure their services and inevitably "jacking up" these players'
salaries.
It is about time these players put the brakes and think seriously
whether they are doing justice to the soccer fans and the game.
If these players have any conscience, they will repent and give the
value the game deserves.
Date : 17/08/1994
Headline : Spoilt brats!
SOCCER players in the country are fast gaining a reputation as an
ungrateful and spoilt lot.
And with news fast spreading that soccer players are into `fixing
matches' these days, their reputation has deteriorated further.
Indeed, a majority of the local soccer players hardly know the word
`professional'.
The players claim to be professionals because the game has now become
their bread and butter in Malaysia but everything is just a cosmetic
change.
The players are as amateur as they were before the game went semi-pro in
1989 and professional this year.
Soccer players earn anything between RM1,000 and RM15,000 per month
without any proper academic qualifications.
A graduate from a university expects to earn about RM800 to RM1,000 in
his first job.
Soccer players train about for a maximum of two to three hours for five
days a week and play 90 minutes of soccer at the end of the week. A normal
wage earner works between seven and ten hours a day and his wages do not
even come close to soccer players.
Even a doctor who does locum tenons is paid only about RM130 to RM160
for a seven to eight-hour job when a soccer player who earns an average of
RM6,000 gets about RM200 for two to three hours of training a day.
And some of them do not even have the Sijil Rendah Pendidikan (SRP or
LCE)!
But the players sadly are not as professional as the doctors or other
skilled workers doing their jobs.
Soccer players have fancy cars, luxurious homes, spend quite a bit on
entertainment and, in short, live life on the fast lanes and come under
the high society bracket.
Of course the players defend their high wages by saying that they have a
short playing career and they have to earn high wages now to support
themselves later.
All this is fine, if they go about their jobs (playing the game) with
all sincerity and commitment.
Mockery
But most of the time, half of the professionals take the State FAs of
even the national body for a ride.
They play when want to and take it easy when they feel like it.
And at the end of the day, the losers, besides the game itself, are the
fans who fork out their hard earned wages to watch these players make a
mockery of themselves.
And to add salt to the injury, some players are involved with the fixing
of matches and, in the process, earning some unbelievable sums of money by
cheating the public and the soccer administrators.
Sometimes, one begins to wonder if these players have such a greed for
money just to maintain their high profile and expensive lifestyles.
Worst of all, these players do not justify their high salaries by trying
to put up a decent performance.
And at the end of the season, the players market themselves and the
State FAs fall for their tricks whereby they will haggle with other States
to secure their services and inevitably "jacking up" these players'
salaries.
It is about time these players put the brakes and think seriously
whether they are doing justice to the soccer fans and the game.
If these players have any conscience, they will repent and give the
value the game deserves.
Wednesday, June 22, 1994
Try a little kindness (21/06/1994 - The Malay Mail)
Publication : MM
Date : 21/06/1994
Headline : Try a little kindness
WHEN sportswriters are forced to sit on a wet ground to cover a Premier
League soccer match, which mind you is a professional league, you cant get
any more unprofessional. Never mind, kindness.
This was what happened at the Perlis-Kuala Lumpur match at the Datuk
Sheikh Ahmad Stadium on Saturday evening. And frankly, it was the pits as
far as treatment of the Press is concerned.
We can handle modest looking rooms, with wobbly chairs, and even fans
that sound like they are going to take off any moment. For God's sake, we
are not looking for a place that looks like a room in The Ritz. But when
you give us a wet ground, that's something no one will take sitting down.
What more when you are not even allowed to take chairs inside the fenced
area to sit on. At first a Perlis FA official allowed us the luxury of a
chair or two, and the two of us do it, but five minutes into the match a
Police officer had them removed as it was against the rules.
When asked where should we sit then, he arrogantly said we should sit on
the ground. Maybe he should try doing that sometimes.
But the question is, why isn't there a Press Room, or even a miserable
place designated for the media. We are talking about going professional,
and here you have an FA who cant even handle something so simple and basic
like arranging for Press seats.
The local reporters may be used to it. They even brought plastic sheets
to the game as they knew they would have sit on the wet ground on that
rainy day.
But they have no reason to. When asked why they allowed it, they said
they had requested time and again for Press seats, but no one paid
attention.
Frankly, we are all quite tired of asking for some decent place to work
from. Gone are the days when we only carry a notebook to venues. Now we
carry laptops and work from the venues.
We have gone professional, but it's obvious that some FAs haven't. Yes,
Perlis aren't the only ones who cannot provide for Press seats.
We have literally begged FA of Malaysia to inform all State FAs of the
our requirements, and we have been doing it year in year out. But who
cares.
Sometimes one wonders how the the FA of Malaysia officials, who inspect
venues before the season kicks off, give the nod when there are
shortcomings.
Perhaps they too believe the media aren't important enough for them to
pay any attention to. Not even important enough to have telephone lines
installed, or to have team lists provided before kick-off.
Date : 21/06/1994
Headline : Try a little kindness
WHEN sportswriters are forced to sit on a wet ground to cover a Premier
League soccer match, which mind you is a professional league, you cant get
any more unprofessional. Never mind, kindness.
This was what happened at the Perlis-Kuala Lumpur match at the Datuk
Sheikh Ahmad Stadium on Saturday evening. And frankly, it was the pits as
far as treatment of the Press is concerned.
We can handle modest looking rooms, with wobbly chairs, and even fans
that sound like they are going to take off any moment. For God's sake, we
are not looking for a place that looks like a room in The Ritz. But when
you give us a wet ground, that's something no one will take sitting down.
What more when you are not even allowed to take chairs inside the fenced
area to sit on. At first a Perlis FA official allowed us the luxury of a
chair or two, and the two of us do it, but five minutes into the match a
Police officer had them removed as it was against the rules.
When asked where should we sit then, he arrogantly said we should sit on
the ground. Maybe he should try doing that sometimes.
But the question is, why isn't there a Press Room, or even a miserable
place designated for the media. We are talking about going professional,
and here you have an FA who cant even handle something so simple and basic
like arranging for Press seats.
The local reporters may be used to it. They even brought plastic sheets
to the game as they knew they would have sit on the wet ground on that
rainy day.
But they have no reason to. When asked why they allowed it, they said
they had requested time and again for Press seats, but no one paid
attention.
Frankly, we are all quite tired of asking for some decent place to work
from. Gone are the days when we only carry a notebook to venues. Now we
carry laptops and work from the venues.
We have gone professional, but it's obvious that some FAs haven't. Yes,
Perlis aren't the only ones who cannot provide for Press seats.
We have literally begged FA of Malaysia to inform all State FAs of the
our requirements, and we have been doing it year in year out. But who
cares.
Sometimes one wonders how the the FA of Malaysia officials, who inspect
venues before the season kicks off, give the nod when there are
shortcomings.
Perhaps they too believe the media aren't important enough for them to
pay any attention to. Not even important enough to have telephone lines
installed, or to have team lists provided before kick-off.
Thursday, June 2, 1994
Glamoir get into the act (NST)
THE Malay Mail football team received a shot in the arm when Glamoir World
of Sports, a sports promotion company, came forward to sponsor them in the
Dunhill League this season.
The company will donate RM25,000 in cash and kind to the team who will
be playing their first match against STM today.
The Malay Mail team, who were runnersup last season and were President's
Cup champions in 1992, will now be called the Glamoir-Malay Mail team.
Glamoir World of Sports' chief executive officer Abdullah Hishan Mohamed
Hashim gave away the jerseys to the team manager Tony Mariadass at Balai
Berita yesterday.
Big boost for Malay Mail (The Malay Mail)
GLAMOIR MALAY MAIL have every reason to beat STM in their opening Kuala
Lumpur Dunhill League match today at STM ground (kickoff 4pm).
The Malay Mail team received a boost yesterday when Glamoir World of
Sports, a sports promotion company, came forward to sponsor them in the
Dunhill League this season.
The company will provide RM25,000 in cash, souveniors and match bonuses.
Glamoir chief executive officer Abdullah Hishan Hashim, who presented
jerseys to Malay Mail team manager Tony Mariadass, hopes to see the team
clinch the title this season.
"With City Hall and Maybank competing in the FAM League, we have a
bright chance of winning the title.
"A consistent performance from the players is the key to Malay Mail's
success," said Hishan.
Malay Mail, runnersup last season and President's Cup champions in 1992,
will now be officially called GlamoirMalay Mail.
This evening, Malay Mail will depend on their new players to deliver the
goods.
The newcomers are Faizal Ismail, Teng Kim Bin, Hasan Yunus, Rajendra
Manio, Nathan Ramasamy, Shiranjit Singh, Jeffery Kamaruddin, Massaud Zain
and Subramani Kuttyandy.
Today's fixtures: Glamoir Malay Mail v STM (STM ground); Cardinal Villa
v Sinaran Mutiara (Hospital ground). (Matches at 4pm).
(END)
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