Council killing the game (The Malay Mail)

MALAYSIAN soccer is being kicked to death by people who are unfit to sit
on the FAM Council.
As FAM welcome the Sports Ministry's offer of help in resuscitating the
national team who have slipped from critical condition into a coma,
corrective surgery needs to be performed on the "diseased" council mostly
made up of State FAs representatives.
To start with, it's the State FAs, through their collective decisions in
the FAM Council who chart the course of Malaysian soccer.
Obviously, they must have been making bad decisions all this while as
the national team have been suffering flop after flop and declining
standards.
As the parent body get flayed and ridiculed, it is the State FAs
closeted in FAM that should take a long hard look at themselves.
Just ask: "What have they contributed to Malaysian soccer?
The destiny of the game here has been entrusted to these State FA
representatives who more often than not, are not suitable choices for the
FAM Council.
Either these people are just figure heads in the State FAs or "big
shots" who are hardly involved in soccer managememt in their respective
States or are just FAM puppets.
Decisions are made with these council members often not knowing the
issues or subjects and they hardly have a clue of the consequences.
And then there are other council members who cannot make decisions but
get back to their State FAs for consultation.
Then there are those who make an effort to come up with ideas and
suggestions at council level but do not get the support of their State
FAs.
Ironically, the knowledgeable people, well versed in the technical
aspects of soccer development, are not the ones sitting on the FAM
Council.
The point here is no matter how brilliant the planning and how much
money FAM or the Sports Ministry come up with, it all depends how well
programmes are, or can be, implemented.
And when it comes to execution of plans, it all falls back on the States
who are not doing much to support soccer development as they are merely
interested in immediate results in the M-League.
It is about time FAM decided who are fit to sit on the council by
vetting the State FA representatives.
They must get rid of the deadwood by insisting the State FAs only
nominate those well versed in the game. This would discount most of the
politicians for a start.
The Sports Ministry should be well aware of what is going behind the FAM
doors as National Sports Council (NSC) director general Datuk Mazlan Ahmad
is a FAM Council member.
It is learnt that Mazlan's visit to Wisma FAM on Wednesday was to convey
Sports Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin's message that it was not his
intention to intervene, but that he was forced to make a statement when
cornered by the media.
Muhyiddin was merely concerned about's FAM future plans especially for
the 2001 Sea Games which Malaysia are hosting.
But unless the Sports Ministry can do something about the State FAs'
setup and attitude, Malaysian soccer will remain in a coma.
                                (END)

No work, no success! (The Malay Mail)

MALAYSIAN soccer seems to have no shortage of scapegoats for the slipping
national standards.
 Everyone expects miracles to happen overnight without wanting to do the
hard work.
 Our demanding soccer public and administrators of the sport - at
national and state levels - just do not have the patience.
 Even before the Olympic 2000 team kick a ball in the qualifying round
for Sydney, they have already been written off.
 You can say the Olympic squad used up millions of ringgit in training
and overseas exposure the past three years and competed in the World Youth
Cup tournament in Malaysia last year.
 That they have been groomed by an array of specialised coaches headed by
Tunisian Hatem Souissi.
 But before anyone gets impressed by all these facts and figures, look
further.
 Instead of just three years of training, the Olympic players should have
at least 10 years of experience at top level football under their belt.
 When selected three years ago, these players hardly had a strong
foundation - no thanks to the State FAs who paid no attention to
development work.
 When you consider Hatem having to call for selection trials, you know
must be drastically wrong with Malaysian football. (Out of the 3,000
players who came, he picked 35).
 The State FAs should have supplied him with a ready list of top youth
players if they have been doing their job. Wasn't there neglect in
development work?
 Englishman Mike Brown, who coached the Pahang in 1992, once asked: "Can
you name 10 players who are 12 years old and can make the World Youth Cup
squad?"
 No name came to mind.
 And Malaysia then were about to make a bid to host the World Youth Cup!
Brown's point?
 The World Youth Cup players should have been there even before the bid.
 Soccer for 12 years olds? Just treat them to a carnival competition two
weeks a year.
 None of the State FAs introduced any new talent other than those
shortlisted for the Olympics squad and later dropped.
 A total of 12 players in Premier One and 16 in Premier Two, registered
at the start of the season, were born on or before 1977.
 Out of 392 players registered in the first two seasons of the Premier
League, only 28 were below 21 years.
 Of these, six players from Premier One and seven from Premier Two were
with the Olympics squad as early as 1995. Another five had attended trials
or trained with the Olympics squad.
 Have these players not been spotted for the Olympic squad, they probably
would never been utilised by the State FAs.
 Several States like Kedah and Kuala Lumpur did have commendable youth
development programmes but they too have slowed down.
 The FA of Malaysia have to virtually force the State FAs to carry out
development programmes by introducing national leagues for Under-16 and
Under-18 players apart from the President's Cup.
 Then there is the touch-football programmes initiated by German Olger
Obermann for kids to get started.
 In five years' time, we should get quality players for our national
teams.
 Our present Olympic players cannot be compared with the likes of
England's Michael Owens, France's David Trezeguet and Thiery Henry,
Brazil's Adailton Martins and Alex.
 These shooting stars all started playing as 10 years olds and have come
through well supervised development programmes.
 Three years of training and several million ringgit are certainly not
the answer to soccer supremacy.
                               (END)

Remember me? (The Malay Mail)

DEFENDER K. Ramachandran, Kuala Lumpur's longest serving player, is left
wondering if he should have moved along when the offers came along.
 And he has had ample time to regret as the season has been almost all
idle hours spent away from the pitch.
 Ramachandran, who turns 26 on Oct 17, is in his sixth season with KL and
is just about left pleading for a fair chance to fight for a place in the
team.
 His nightmare started at the beginning of the season when he was
stripped of the skipper's band after two seasons.
 He was accused of leading a boycott of former KL coach Chow Kwai Lam's
training to take up the team's grouses with KLFA president Datuk Seri
Megat Junid Megat Ayub.
 This was just after KL's 5-1 hammering by Kedah in the season's opening
match in Alor Star.
 Then injury put him out for a big part of the League with Mat Zan Mat
Aris taking over as coach and KL going 11 matches unbeaten.
 Youngster M. Karunakaran, who stepped into Ramachandran's position, has
done well to keep his place.
 And with Azlan Hussein back from the Olympic 2000 squad, there is
further competition in the backline.
 Karunakaran and Abdul Ghani Malik are Mat Zan's first choice stoppers
with P. Saravanan playing sweeper.
 "I am not worried of the competition in the team. I like it better when
the competition is keener as everyone has to work for his place," said
Ramachandran, a product of the KLFA youth development programmes.
 "But, somehow, I get the feeling I am not wanted and that hurts because
I have always been loyal to KL," said the Taiping-born Ramachandran.
 Ramachandran stuck with KL even when they failed to qualify for the
Malaysia Cup competition for four consecutive years.
 And it was during this period that he had offers from Selangor, Negri
Sembilan and Perak.
 He turned them all down, even some lucrative ones during those years of
conspicuous consumption, as he felt indebted to KLFA.
 With his experience and maturity, Ramachandran should be a mainstay of
the team but he is not even among the KL reserves for tomorrow night's
opening Malaysia Cup match against Terengganu.
 But Ramachandran is not giving up without a fight.
 "As long as I am in the squad, there is hope. I am going to train even
harder to get my chance to play - even if for a few minutes.
 "I still have a great deal to offer to the team," said Ramachandran who
has two FA Cup medals with KL from 1993 and 1994.
 "But if my best effort is not good enough for the team, I would have to
move along.
 "Maybe I will get the chance to prove myself all over again, maybe I
will not. But it would not be because of a lack of effort on my part,"
said Ramachandran.
 Mat Zan is using younger players in his line-up.
 The older players like Liew Kim Tu, Tan Cheng Hoe, Nazim Din, Amiruddin
Ahmad and Zefus Othman have all been reduced to reserves.
 The competition is keen with the youngsters wanting to establish
themselves and the seniors wanting to reassert themselves.
 Mat Zan is certainly in a good position as all the competition for team
places brings out the best in the players.
                                 (END)

Allen paves the way to success (The Malay Mail)

BOWLING sparked off the gold hunt for Malaysia, through Kenny Ang and Ben Heng, in the just concluded Commonweath Games. Kenny also won the singles gold while Shalin Zulkifli and Lai Kin Ngoh provided a doubles silver with a bronze coming from Kin Ngoh in the singles. Coach Sid Allen, in a question and answer session with Mailsport tells how it all happened. The fears, the moments of ecstasy and what is in store for the future. Mailsport: Congratulations on the team's performance at the Commonwealth Games. You must be relieved that bowling met their target: Allen: After the success of the whole contingent, we would have definitely been disappointed if we had not done as well as we did. It was indeed a relief on the first day of competition, when we won the gold through Kenny and Ben. That took off a great deal of pressure from the team. We had kept the pressure off by just saying that we would be going for two medals without naming the colours. But MTBC, NSC and the Sports Ministry, knew we were looking at gold. We have to thank NSC and the Sports Ministry for nor pressuring us with open announcements. We also have the media to thank for keeping our targets under wraps. And we are happy we kept our part of the bargain and delivered the goods. Mailsport: Are you satisfised with what was achieved or do you feel we could have done better? Allen: I am very satisfied. We could not have done better. In the men's section we dominated with gold medals in the singles and doubles. In the women`s section, Australia's Cara Honeychurch and Maxine Nable were the better players in the tournament and they dominated. And with K.N. Lai picking up the bronze in the singles and Shalin and Lai winning the silver in the doubles, we could not have done better. But I am a little disappointed with the mixed doubles. The gold and silver medal in the men and women's doubles respectively got the better of the players. The attention we got and the euphoria somewhat drained the bowlers. We could have done better othrwise. Mailsport: The selection of the bowlers for the Commonwealth Games must have been a difficult one especially when you could only name two in each category. Did you at anytime doubt your choice? Allen: I did, because we have so many players who were capable of playing at the Games and achieve what we did. Anyone of the players from Y.H. Ng, Alex Liew and Sharon Low could have done well. We have three players who are world champions - Daniel Lim and Sharon, both World Games champions, and Alex Liew who was the World Youth championship gold medallist. The fact that they were not used only shows our depth. I am glad that everything worked well for us. Mailsport: Did Shalin crumble under pressure or did she suffer a burn- out? Allen: Definitely not, I should know. She gave her best and was all the time in control of herself. She was highly competitive and motivated to do well, but things just did not go her way. Besides, with Honeychurch and Maxine playing at their best, there was no way Shalin could have beaten them. Shalin's selection to represent Malaysia at the World Cup in Kobe in November, underlines the fact that she is still the No 1 bowler in the country. She has not lost her edge. Mailsport: Was there a possibility that Malaysia could have made a clean sweep or flopped completely during the Games? Allen: No, I do not believe we could have made a clean sweep especially with the presence of the Australian women who were in awesome form. But we could have got in trouble if we had not had a good start on the first day when we won the women's doubles silver and men's doubles gold medal. We may have even succumbed under the pressure. But talking about pressure, I must say that the players handled it very well and showed teremendous character. It was indeed a big story because they became role models. They showed how to make use of home crowd support to their advantage. Mailsport: The preparations for the Games were thorough, but were you worried that you might have overlooked something? Allen: My job is to worry and if I did not I would not have been doing my job. Our preparations were thorough. I was more worried when everything was going on smoothly because it is during these times that one will not see any signs if things were going wrong. But I am glad that everything went on smoothly without any hitches. Mailsport: With all the money spent, preparations made and expectations riding high, what was your greatest fear? Allen: My greatest fear was if the players could handle the pressure. But they handled it well and even made use of the crowd support to their advantage. Thy did not allow fear to get the better of them. Instead they went on and conquered it. Mailsport: If you were given an opportunity to prepare all over again for the Games, would you do it any differently? Allen: In terms of selection of players and preparation, I would not. But probably on the "Operation Cara" I would have handled it differently. It was certainly not an operation like the foreign media made it out to be to rattle Honeychurch or put fear in her that we have an hostile crowd here. We knew that Honeychurch could be rattled under pressure and all we asked was for the local crowd to come and support our bowlers. We certainly would not have condoned jeering and this certainly did not happen. Honeychurch was fearful that the crowd would be hostile and that probably affected her performance on the first day. But when she found out that she was not going to get any stick from the crowd, she settled down to bussiness. The best player won and that alone speaks for the fairness displayed here. Mailsport: Was there a turning point which saw the team rise to the occasion? Allen: The turning point was the Opening Ceremony. When we walked into the Stadium to the standing ovation, the atmosphere instantly gripped us. When we walked in we were made to realise that we were the stars. It was like music and we danced to a perfect tune of success. It spurred ud on to greater heights and when we walked out of the stadium there was relief on our faces. Mailsport: Where do you go from here? Allen: The quartet who bowled at the Games are a tired lot. But it is back to work because we have a lot more to do. We began training before the closing ceremony and that underlines our seriousness. Ben Heng and K.N. Lai are competing in Manila in the Brunswick Asian tournament of champions, while the rest are working for the World team Cup in Holland, in three weeks, the Bowling World Cup in Kobe in November and, finally, the Bangkok Asian Games in December. It is going to be work and more work. Only in January or February when all is done, will we have time for celebration. Mailsport: How long more are you going to be in Malaysia and what is your ultimate target for bowling in Malaysia? Allen: I will be around until the end of next year, until after the World championships. In the meantime, I intend to set up a structure good for Malaysian bowling for the next 15 years. We have progressed by leaps and bounds since we started work eight years ago. We now have younger bowlers coming up. The men`s team is getting younger. Besides Kenny, the rest are all youngsters. The men have progrssed tremendously to catch up with the women bowlers. It is now important for us to work towards more consistent performances. I would like to see development in the technical aspect of the game and the presence of people like Bill Hall, the ball specialist who was here for the Games, will definitely be a boost. I will also be updating the development programme and manuals as we have made headway n the last eight years. We are moving up the ladder and we need to continue to be more professional in our approach in order to improve. It will be another three years before the present batch of players peak. (END)

Allen paves the way to success (The Malay Mail)

BOWLING sparked off the gold hunt for Malaysia, through Kenny Ang and Ben Heng, in the just concluded Commonweath Games. Kenny also won the singles gold while Shalin Zulkifli and Lai Kin Ngoh provided a doubles silver with a bronze coming from Kin Ngoh in the singles. Coach Sid Allen, in a question and answer session with Mailsport tells how it all happened. The fears, the moments of ecstasy and what is in store for the future. Mailsport: Congratulations on the team's performance at the Commonwealth Games. You must be relieved that bowling met their target: Allen: After the success of the whole contingent, we would have definitely been disappointed if we had not done as well as we did. It was indeed a relief on the first day of competition, when we won the gold through Kenny and Ben. That took off a great deal of pressure from the team. We had kept the pressure off by just saying that we would be going for two medals without naming the colours. But MTBC, NSC and the Sports Ministry, knew we were looking at gold. We have to thank NSC and the Sports Ministry for nor pressuring us with open announcements. We also have the media to thank for keeping our targets under wraps. And we are happy we kept our part of the bargain and delivered the goods. Mailsport: Are you satisfised with what was achieved or do you feel we could have done better? Allen: I am very satisfied. We could not have done better. In the men's section we dominated with gold medals in the singles and doubles. In the women`s section, Australia's Cara Honeychurch and Maxine Nable were the better players in the tournament and they dominated. And with K.N. Lai picking up the bronze in the singles and Shalin and Lai winning the silver in the doubles, we could not have done better. But I am a little disappointed with the mixed doubles. The gold and silver medal in the men and women's doubles respectively got the better of the players. The attention we got and the euphoria somewhat drained the bowlers. We could have done better othrwise. Mailsport: The selection of the bowlers for the Commonwealth Games must have been a difficult one especially when you could only name two in each category. Did you at anytime doubt your choice? Allen: I did, because we have so many players who were capable of playing at the Games and achieve what we did. Anyone of the players from Y.H. Ng, Alex Liew and Sharon Low could have done well. We have three players who are world champions - Daniel Lim and Sharon, both World Games champions, and Alex Liew who was the World Youth championship gold medallist. The fact that they were not used only shows our depth. I am glad that everything worked well for us. Mailsport: Did Shalin crumble under pressure or did she suffer a burn- out? Allen: Definitely not, I should know. She gave her best and was all the time in control of herself. She was highly competitive and motivated to do well, but things just did not go her way. Besides, with Honeychurch and Maxine playing at their best, there was no way Shalin could have beaten them. Shalin's selection to represent Malaysia at the World Cup in Kobe in November, underlines the fact that she is still the No 1 bowler in the country. She has not lost her edge. Mailsport: Was there a possibility that Malaysia could have made a clean sweep or flopped completely during the Games? Allen: No, I do not believe we could have made a clean sweep especially with the presence of the Australian women who were in awesome form. But we could have got in trouble if we had not had a good start on the first day when we won the women's doubles silver and men's doubles gold medal. We may have even succumbed under the pressure. But talking about pressure, I must say that the players handled it very well and showed teremendous character. It was indeed a big story because they became role models. They showed how to make use of home crowd support to their advantage. Mailsport: The preparations for the Games were thorough, but were you worried that you might have overlooked something? Allen: My job is to worry and if I did not I would not have been doing my job. Our preparations were thorough. I was more worried when everything was going on smoothly because it is during these times that one will not see any signs if things were going wrong. But I am glad that everything went on smoothly without any hitches. Mailsport: With all the money spent, preparations made and expectations riding high, what was your greatest fear? Allen: My greatest fear was if the players could handle the pressure. But they handled it well and even made use of the crowd support to their advantage. Thy did not allow fear to get the better of them. Instead they went on and conquered it. Mailsport: If you were given an opportunity to prepare all over again for the Games, would you do it any differently? Allen: In terms of selection of players and preparation, I would not. But probably on the "Operation Cara" I would have handled it differently. It was certainly not an operation like the foreign media made it out to be to rattle Honeychurch or put fear in her that we have an hostile crowd here. We knew that Honeychurch could be rattled under pressure and all we asked was for the local crowd to come and support our bowlers. We certainly would not have condoned jeering and this certainly did not happen. Honeychurch was fearful that the crowd would be hostile and that probably affected her performance on the first day. But when she found out that she was not going to get any stick from the crowd, she settled down to bussiness. The best player won and that alone speaks for the fairness displayed here. Mailsport: Was there a turning point which saw the team rise to the occasion? Allen: The turning point was the Opening Ceremony. When we walked into the Stadium to the standing ovation, the atmosphere instantly gripped us. When we walked in we were made to realise that we were the stars. It was like music and we danced to a perfect tune of success. It spurred ud on to greater heights and when we walked out of the stadium there was relief on our faces. Mailsport: Where do you go from here? Allen: The quartet who bowled at the Games are a tired lot. But it is back to work because we have a lot more to do. We began training before the closing ceremony and that underlines our seriousness. Ben Heng and K.N. Lai are competing in Manila in the Brunswick Asian tournament of champions, while the rest are working for the World team Cup in Holland, in three weeks, the Bowling World Cup in Kobe in November and, finally, the Bangkok Asian Games in December. It is going to be work and more work. Only in January or February when all is done, will we have time for celebration. Mailsport: How long more are you going to be in Malaysia and what is your ultimate target for bowling in Malaysia? Allen: I will be around until the end of next year, until after the World championships. In the meantime, I intend to set up a structure good for Malaysian bowling for the next 15 years. We have progressed by leaps and bounds since we started work eight years ago. We now have younger bowlers coming up. The men`s team is getting younger. Besides Kenny, the rest are all youngsters. The men have progrssed tremendously to catch up with the women bowlers. It is now important for us to work towards more consistent performances. I would like to see development in the technical aspect of the game and the presence of people like Bill Hall, the ball specialist who was here for the Games, will definitely be a boost. I will also be updating the development programme and manuals as we have made headway n the last eight years. We are moving up the ladder and we need to continue to be more professional in our approach in order to improve. It will be another three years before the present batch of players peak. (END)

Prime act! (The Malay Mail)

THE Prime Minister of Malaysia came a calling. So did Prince Edward of
England. It was indeed a very special occasion that necessitated a piece
of history at the Pyramid Bowl yesterday.
 Kenny Ang and Ben Heng responded magnificently by delivering Malaysia's
first gold of the 16th Commonwealth Games at 5.58pm to add to the women's
doubles silver Shalin Zuikifli and Lai Kin Ngoh had landed in the morning.
 Though they did not start off as the favourites, the Malaysian pair gave
Datuk Seri Dr Mahathir Mohamad and the country much to cheer about at the
end of the men's doubles.
 Dr Mahathir had surprised the packed crowd at the Pyramid when he
dropped by during the fifth block to add to the atmosphere. Fixated by the
action, he left his VIP seat at the sixth block to sit among the
spectators directly behind Kenny and Beng.
 And the duo certainly felt his presence, firing on to lead the pack as
they done from the very first block.
 Ben said: "I was shocked to see the Prime Minister and when he moved to
sit behind us, I knew we couldn't let him down.
 "He certainly got me going and when we shook hands before he left, he
brought me more luck as I went on to score a 232 in the next game."
 Kenny said: "I must admit that I was under more pressure when the PM sat
behind us. But it also brought out the best in me as I didn't want to
disappoint him."
 The fans at the alley were also surprised by the PM's presence and they
gave him a standing ovation when he left after the sixth block to attend
the rugby tournament.
 Earlier, Prince Edward, the president of the Commonwealth Games
Federation, was also a witness on the opening day of the bowling
competition.
 The Malaysian pair rolled a total of 3,552 pinfalls to beat Bermuda's
Antoine Jones and Condrad Lister by 223 pinfalls into second place.
Australians Michael Muir and Francis Ryan finished third with 3,229.
 Ten minutes after Malaysia were awarded the gold, Datuk Dr P.S. Nathan,
the president of the Malaysian Tenpin Bowling Congress, got a call from Dr
M to convey his congratulations.
 Kenny, at 46 the oldest member of the team, and Ben, 24, had made his
day with their prime act.
                              (END)

Nerves of steel (The Malay Mail)

KL 98 Commonwealth Games

A STRONG character steered the Malaysian pair of Kenny Ang and Ben Heng to the men's doubles bowling gold at Pyramid Bowl yesterday. And Kenny could not have better described the pressure exerted on him and Ben to deliver the goods. Kenny said: "We might have acted cool and not displayed any signs of pressure but deep down, we were under tremendous stress. "I would be lying if I said I was not nervous. "And when Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Mahathir Mohamad came calling in the midst of our games, I had butterflies n my stomach. "We had to deliver at all costs with the Prime Minister in the audience. "And I'm glad that we managed to keep our cool and deliver," said Kenny, 45, a former Asian Bowler of the Year. Kenny was under such immense pressure that he became reserved and sullen two days ago, resul-ting in him causing great worry for national coach Sid Allen. "I was concerned because I could see the pressure getting to Kenny," said Allen. "But he went out there and it was his character and determination to do well that saw him going. "And I am very happy for Kenny because I know he has made big sacrifices to be in the game. "When I first met him six years ago, he was playing about 20 games as part of his daily training and which he paid out of his own pocket. He also spent thousands of ringgit on balls. "He has made many sacrifices and he fully deserves what he has achieved today." Ben, the more composed of the duo, also said he was jittery at the beginning. "I wanted to do honours for the country and had trained very hard to make the squad for the Com-monwealth Games," said Ben, 24, who hails from Johor. "But when the moment of truth came, I was nervous. But it was a great help that our first block saw us amassing 503 pinfalls. "That just boosted our confidence. "I have to thank Kenny for his guidance and his coolness. He was constantly a source of inspiration to me. "And when he threw a 158 game in the third block and bounced back with 237 in the next, he just got me going because not everyone could do that. "He showed steely courage and his experience was certainly a big factor." Allen said he was not so much concerned about the pressure getting to Ben because the latter was one guy who just gets going and enjoys every moment - be it a good strike or a poor throw. "His coolness is simply superb. But then again, when the whole nation is banking on you to deliver, there are no doubts about the pressure and Ben handled it magnificently." WHAT THEY SAY ABOUT OUR VICTORY KENNY ANG: This is not my victory. It was a team effort. From my partner Ben Heng, the coaches, the fans and officials. It belongs to the nation. A big thank you to all of you for making this moment. BEN HENG: We just got going today (yesterday) and everything fell into place. Shalin and K.N. Lai set the pace in the morning with the silver and we just wanted to carry on with the good run and hit it right. It is indeed a moment that I will remember for a long, long time. SID ALLEN (coach): Kenny and Ben have proven that the men's bowlers have arrived too. It was a very difficult game out there and they showed tremendous character to rise to the occasion. They have put tremendous work into these Games and they fully deserved what they have achieved. JIM PORTER (coach): There were three factors for Malaysia's victory today. A great coach in Sid Allen, tremendous fan support and great publicity from the media. That is three strikes in a row for you. BILL HALL (ball specialist): This is the first time I am involved in a team event in amateur bowling and I have never experienced such an event today in my 20 years of pro bowling. It was a tremendous effort by the bowlers and it is a moment which will register in me forever. DATUK P.S. NATHAN (MTBC president): This is a team victory. From the bowlers, the coaches, the fans, the MTBC officials, National Sports Council, the Sports Ministry, the Government, our sponsors Land & General and everybody who has been associated with the sport. SIDNEY TUNG (MTBC secretary-general): This is certainly not an overnight success or fluke. It was sheer hardwork, good planning, good support from all quarters, the dedicated coaches and bowlers and the will to seek glory at the highest level. And there is still more to come. (END)