: Sidney wins major international award (The Sunday Mail)

MALAYSIAN TENPIN BOWLING CONGRESS (MTBC) secretary-general Sidney Tung
(right) was honoured by the World Bowling Writers (WBW) when they awarded
him the Mort Luby Jr Distinguished Service Award for 2003.
 Malaysia received a rare double honour when the the writer of this
article was awarded the Gosten Zellen Golden Quill Award for contribution
in giving the sport publicity.
 Sidney was not present in Singapore as he had an important meeting in
Kuala Lumpur. The award was given for his tireless efforts in promoting
bowling worldwide.
 Sidney, who began his career in bowling administration since founding
the Kuala Lumpur Tenpin Association in 1976, got involved at the national
level when he was MTBC's assistant secretary from 1978 to 1980.
 He was then elected the secretary-general from 1980.
 Sidney's first international award was the FIQ Silver Pin Award for
outstanding contribution in Tenpin Bowling 1999.
 Sidney is best remembered for calling the media to give them the latest
results as he knew many considered bowling a parlour sport.
 He still does it today and even includes pictures as well.
 Today bowling is covered widely by all local major newspapers as the
conception of the game has changed and is recognised as a competitive
sport.
 The increasing support includes being selected as among the eight elite
sports for Government aid.
 "I didn't expect to be recognised by the WBW," said Sidney when
contacted in Kuala Lumpur.
 "This is an honour which will spur me to strive harder to raise the
popularity of bowling.
 "I hope to see it in the Olympics soon."
 SIDNEY TUNG'S BIO-DATA
 Date of birth: Jan 6, 1945
 Place of birth: Kuala Lumpur
 Education: Confusion Chinese Secondary School - Senior middle 3; Senior
Cambridge examination; Technical College Diploma: Architectural
Designer/draftsmanship
 Sports education: American Sports Academy Foundation graduate in sports;
Administration & management, Sport marketing, Sports science, mental
training in high performance sports.
 Involvement in Malaysian Sports: Founder of Persatuan Tenpin Bowling
Kuala Lumpur (1976), Vice-president from 1978-1984, sssistant secretary
MTBC (1978-1980), Secretary-general(1980-present), Member of Olympic
Council of Malaysia since 1980, Sport manager of 1998 Commonwealth Games
(1996-1998), CEO of 2003 World Tenpin Bowling Championship
 Involvement in international organisations: Secretary of WTBA Asian Zone
(Now ABF 1994-1996), Member of ABF Tournament & Technical Committee (1997-
2004), Member of FIQ Membership Committee (1995-2003), deputy secretary-
general WTBA  (1999-2003), WTBA Technical Committee (1999-2003), WTBA
Tournament Committee (1999-2003), WTBA World Ranking Committee (1999-
2003), WTBA Marketing Committee (1999-2003)
 Positions in international organisations: Vice-president Asian Bowling
Federation (Since 1997), vice-president Commonwealth Tenpin Bowling
Federation (Since August 2002), ABF chairman statistic & award recognition
committee since 1997, ABF Tour Ltd board member since 2004
 International official in following championships
 Technical delegate: East Asian Games, China (1993), Asian Youth
Championship, HK (1993), Hiroshima Asian Games, Japan (1994), East Asian
Games, South Korea (1995), AMF Bowling World Cup, Kobe (1998)
 Jury of appeal: World Youth Championship, HK (1996), SEA Games, Jakarta
(1997), SEA Games, Brunei (1999), Asian Championship, Doha (2000)
 Tournament Director: SEA Games, KL (1989), 1st WTTC, KL (1994), Asian
Youth Championship, KL (1996), Commonwealth Games, KL (1998)
 Tournament manager: SEA Games, Penang (2001), World Championship KL
(2003)
 Team manager: SEA Games (1981, 1985, 1987, 1991, 1995), FIQ Asian
Championships (1980, 1982, 1984, 1988, 1992, 1994, 1996, 1998), FIQ World
Championships (1983, 1987, 1991, 1995, 1999), Asian Games (1986), AMF
Bowling World Cup (1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002)
 Awards received: PPN (Pingat Pangkuan Negara) from Yang Di Pertuan Agong
(1990), AMN (Pingat Ahli Mangku Negara ) from Yang Di Pertuan Agong
(1999), FIQ Silver Pin Award for outstanding contribution (1999)
                               (END)

Holloway finally steps into the spotlight (The Sunday Mail)

THIS was one occasion bowling coach Holloway Cheah could not shun away
from the publicity and limelight when he was accorded Coach of the Year
2003 award by the National Sports Council on Tuesday night in a glittering
ceremony in Kuala Lumpur.
Holloway, the former national bowler in the 1970s, has always stayed
away from the limelight in his coaching career which he started soon after
hanging up his gloves following the 1978 Bangkok Asian Games.
His award was for his contribution last year where he played a major
part in the national team's success in winning both the men and women's
5th World Tenpin Team Cup titles in Odense, Denmark, and the gold by the
women's team of five at the 15th World Championship in Kuala Lumpur.
But Holloway's contribution to the sport has been longstanding and his
award was way past due.
A member of the 1978 Bangkok Asiad team who won Malaysia's first ever
bowling gold medal, the sport has been his way of life from young.
Holloway, who turned 62 on Nov 27, came to Kuala Lumpur from Penang in
the 1960s looking for a job and he joined Federal Bowl.
Basketball was his first love and bowling was second during his
schooldays.
But all that changed when he was with Federal Bowl, where he later
joined the food and beverage department in the hotel before moving to Star
Bowl in the former Merlin Hotel (now Concorde Hotel).
It was here that Holloway started his coaching career and helped set up
the Star Bowl youth team.
He then took charge of the Kent Bowl youth team when the Star Bowl moved
to Kent Bowl in Asia Jaya.
It was in 1984 that Holloway first started to get involved with the
national team and national development coaching.
Through the Malaysian Tenpin Bowling Congress (MTBC) and National Sports
Council (NSC), he had the opportunity to work under three great American
coaches over several years with special certification through Dick Ritger
for basic and silver certification programme, Bill Taylor for ball
drilling and coaching programme, and all-time great Tom Kouros while he
was here in 1987 to prepare the national side for the Helsinki World
Championships.
Within this period, Holloway played a part in moulding the team who
later mounted a serious challenge at the 1987 Asian Youth Championships at
Tokyo where Karen Lian and Lydia Kwah won the girls doubles and then
dominated the 1989 Kuala Lumpur SEA Games.
From May 1990 until 2000, he worked with Sid Allen as the local national
coach and gained a great deal of experience from the Canadian, who is one
of the best coaches in the world.
Together, they brought success after success to the country while at the
same time, developed many young bowlers to form a huge pool.
From May 2001, Holloway took over as national chief coach and was
responsible for winning seven gold medals at the 2001 KL SEA Games and two
golds in the 2002 Busan Asian Games.
In between, there were countless international victories.
His greatest moment, of course, was leading the men and women's team to
victory in Odense for the first ever wins in the World Team Cup and the
women's gold medal at the World Championships.
Holloway has since quit as national chief coach as he was spending too
much time travelling which prevented him from managing the Pyramid
Megalanes fulltime.
Holloway worked with Chris Batson during the World Championships.
He had earlier made personal recommendations that Batson, who was hired
as the roving development coach, be made the national coach.
But bowling is much thicker than blood and he still helps Batson and
MTBC in their development programme, but on a part-time and as-and-when
basis.
Asked about the recognition given to him, he shifted the attention to
his bowlers saying it was them who brought success and he was just tagging
along.
And that is truly Holloway. A man who works very hard, but stays in the
background when success comes and lets the athletes enjoy the glory.
It is indeed hard to see such a coach like Holloway come by, who not
only is a knowledgeable coach, but who puts emphasis on his team and takes
the backseat each time they do well.
It is hardly surprising the bowlers have the utmost respect for him and
only address him as "Sir".
Not that he demanded it but it was out of respect.
Holloway's philosophy is simple: "Respect is earned and not demanded."
"I always felt the bowlers have to trust your ability for them to give
you the attention and respect," said Holloway.
"I always make it a point to be close to the bowlers because I need to
know them well enough to work with them.
"But that does not mean just because I am close with them, I compromise
when it comes to training.
"We know where to draw the line between friends and coach.
"I have never had any problems with the bowlers," said the father of
four.
His only daughter, Esther, is testimony of that.
He personally coached his 17-year-old daughter and did not spare her
from the tough regiment.
And Esther finally made the grade when she was promoted to the national
team.
Maybe, it was for this reason too, that Holloway felt it was about time
he stepped down as national coach, because the last thing he would have
wanted to hear is his daughter is in the national squad because he is the
father.
There is no doubt Esther made the national team on merit and it was a
proud moment for Holloway when she graduated into senior rank.
His eldest son, who is 31, is a pilot while the other two, aged 27 and
21, only bowl for recreation.
Holloway may have bowed out from the national team without fanfare, but
his legacy could well be continued by his daughter, who is fast turning
out to be a force to be reckoned with.
We certainly have not heard the last of Cheahs yet!
(END)

Prove me wrong (The Malay Mail)

THE new season kicks off today with the FA of Malaysia (FAM) hoping to
change the image of Malaysian soccer.
  There has been a lot of hype surrounding the inaugural Malaysian Super
League (MSL) which is seen as another incarnation of the same game.
  But FAM deputy-president Tengku Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah's seriousness
is underlined by the fact he is prepared to quit if the League is not
successful in three years.
  A change in names matters little when it is the changing of mindset that
is needed to rejuvenate the game.
  It will take clear thinking by parents, teachers, coaches, players,
officials, administrators and fans to make it work.
  What has changed from yesteryears is the passion for the game.
  We have improved in terms of facilities, finance and technical knowhow.
  Semi-pro soccer came in 1989 and we went on to professional status in
1996.
  Now, 15 years down the road, Malaysian soccer still cannot make an
impression.
  Most Malaysians enjoy the English Premier League and are very
knowledgeable of it.
  It has, sadly, come at a great cost to the local game.
  FAM are right to insist on professionalism when it comes to the players
and officials especially since MSL champions get RM500,000 and the
runners-up RM300,000. The third-placed team will take home RM200,000.
  But when foreigners take the place of local players in the league, the
selectors will have a hard time coming up with a decent national side.
  Tengku Abdullah has said it should serve as a wake-up call for the local
players to fight for their places with improved performances.
  But the average Malaysian soccer player is a lowly educated, laidback
character who is happy to earn between RM3,000 and RM10,000 a month for
working 18 to 20 hours a week.
  The key roles would be going to players like Phillimon Chipeta of
Zambia, Keith Gumbs of St KItts-Nevis, Slovak Ivan Ziga or Argentine
Ricardo Silva.
  Foreign players may draw the fans to watch teams like Perak, Pahang,
Sabah and even Public Bank but it is not going to help local soccer.
  The MSL is an attempt to see Malaysian soccer improve but has enough
thought been put into organising a competition that would produce calibre
players like in Japan, Korea and China?
  The priority should be to develop a wide base of quality players before
moving to the next level - excellence.
  There were many new faces when FAM decided to ban foreign players for
three seasons since 1999 but they may well be discouraged with the arrival
of the imports.
  A lot of money is being spent by State teams and clubs on the foreigners
and it would be wise but only if the foreigners were top brains who can
coach and develop players in the States.
  This will ensure quality players, with a command of the basics, coming
through from the development programmes and youth teams.
  The MSL would be great if it produces the players who go on to become
household names, like it was all those years ago.
                                (END)

True football man

DELL was a soccer fan since he was just a schoolboy and naturally, it was
Matt Busby's side, Manchester United, that got him hooked on the game.
It was the great players like George Best, Bobby Charlton, Dennis Law
and Nobby Stiles who inspired him to become a footballer.
Of course, his elder brother Sadar Khan, a national player, also played
a part when Dell began training with the Sultan Sulaiman Club in Kampung
Baru.
It was not long before Dell's talent, as a defender, was noticed and he
was selected to the Malaysian youth team in 1968.
The following year, he had already made the senior team and went on to
earn about 30 caps before a serious knee injury forced him out of the
game.
Before he bowed out, however, he had the honour of being part of the
national team who helped Malaysia qualify for the first-ever Olympic
soccer tournament in Munich in 1972.
It was in 1971, in the pre-Olympics, in Seoul, that Malaysia booked
their ticket when they topped the group after beating South Korea, Japan,
Taiwan and the Philippines.
Till today, Dell still recalls the proud moment where he played in all
the matches except against Korea.
He still remembers how Syed Ahmad had headed in a cross from left winger
Looi Loon Teik to give Malaysia the solitary goal for the win.
But sadly, Dell was not on the plane to Munich because he suffered a
knee injury in the run-up training stint in Cologne.
He was among the six players from the pre-Olympics squad of 1971 who had
failed to make the trip to Munich for one reason or another.
The other five were goalkeeper Wong Hee Kok, defender Chan Kok Leong,
midfielder M. Kalimuthu and strikers Yap Eng Hock and Syed Ahmad.
That exclusion and his injury ended his soccer career prematurely when
he was 31.
While he concentrated on his police work after that, his love for sports
never deserted him.
In 1978, he was the secretary for the Royal Malaysian Police Sports
Council and in the 80s, Dell got back to being involved in soccer as an
official, when the former Mayor of Kuala Lumpur and president of KLFA, Tan
Sri Elyas Omar invited him to come on board the Council. He was then co-
opted into the FA of Malaysia disciplinary Board and in 1996 was made the
national soccer team manager where he took charge of the side that
featured in the 1997 Jakarta Sea Games.
Before that, he had already managed the boxing team in the 1978 Sea
Games.
In 1998, he was made the independent delegate in the FA of Malaysia.
Dell went on to assume the position of FA of Malaysia secretary-general,
taking over from Datuk Paul Mony Samuel in June 2000, a post which he
still holds.
Dell has not only moved in ranks in the police force, but in soccer too,
where he progressed from a fan to a player and then official and
administrator.
He is now regarded as a top soccer official in this region and is fast
gaining recognition in the world scene.

Locals could lose out (The Malay Mail)

THE new season starting next month could see a record number of foreign
talents involved in the local leagues but their impact is left to be seen.
  The FA of Malaysia (FAM) and their affiliates expect the foreigners to
add glamour, help raise standards and bring the fans back.
  The FAM Local Competitions Committee and the FAM Council have apparently
given the matter much thought and are allowing teams a maximum of four
imports although only three can be fielded at any one time in a match.
  A conservative 60 players - compared to the previous high of 55 in 1997
- are expected to ply their trade in the eight-team Super League and 18-
team Premier League.
  An average of three foreigners per team will see 24 in the Super League
while two per team in the Premier League will see another 36 involved in
the local leagues.
  Among the fears in hiring these players is that teams without means
could get into financial difficulties towards the end of the season by
exceeding their budgets.
  The FAM Vetting Committee go through all requests to hire foreign
players and demand a bank guarantee from the teams. The committee are also
supposed to check the credentials of the players.
  But time and time again many of the signings seldom measure up and their
contracts are terminated before the end of the season.
  With Juan Manuel Arostegui making a big impact with Malaysia Cup winners
Selangor MPPJ last season, there has been a rush to hire Argentine
players.
  Arostegui, who scored 50 goals, has moved on to greener pastures and it
is anybody's guess how his compatriots will fare.
  In the past, Malaysia saw a fair share of social problems created by the
foreign players and it could well be compounded by the increase in their
numbers.
  The great hope is that local players, especially the youngsters, will
learn from the foreigners but teams seldom use the imports in coaching
clinics and other activities that help raise standards.
  The biggest setback in signing foreigners is that local players will be
deprived a chance to play in their own leagues.
  And players deprived from first team places could well come from the
national and Olympic ranks and that would severely affect the standard of
our national teams.
  The hiring of imports could also have an adverse impact on the grooming
of fresh local talent as teams will be tempted to take the easy way out
and buy ready players.
  In the end, we could well see a Malaysian league for foreigners to
market themselves.

Still stumbling in the dark (The Malay Mail)

SOON it will be the end of yet another year and in retrospect, Malaysian
soccer is still struggling to find its footing, both locally and
internationally.
For more than a decade, promises have been made to resurrect Malaysian
soccer, and millions of ringgit spent. But there is little to show we are
heading in the right direction.
FAM are certainly not short on resources or ideas but somehow, they
always get shortchanged by players and officials. One of the reasons is
that the national body change courses once too often, coming out with
short-term plans.
Bringing in the best coaches in the world is not going to help Malaysian
soccer because the rot has set in at the grassroots. Until this is
remedied, we are going to face disappointment after disappointment.
And strengthening the grassroots is going to take time, determination,
hardwork and above all, patience.
For four or five years, FAM have been focusing on the same set of
players but nothing good comes out of them. The sad fact is that these
players have been overpaid and overrated and made to believe that they are
the best in the country.
Even FAM's efforts to expose these players to top international matches
have made little difference.
We need a new breed of players with ethics and not just make-believe
professionals. FAM have to go down to players as young as eight years old
to start all over again.
And for FAM to be successful, they have to depend on their affiliates
but the latter often let the national body down. FAM can have the best of
development programmes, but no one will carry out the plans well at
grassroots level.
There has been so much emphasis on the M-League that hardly any work is
done at the lower level. FAM are partly to blame for the current state of
Malaysian soccer because time and again, they keep changing the format of
the domestic league.
A few months into the season, a new format for the 2004 league was
announced this year and this caught many teams by surprise. Now, you have
the Super League and this may set Malaysian soccer back by a few years.
The influx of foreign players is going to deny the already half-baked
local players the exposure. With teams focusing on foreigners as their
backbone, where is the national team going to get their players from?
The last two years saw some quality players coming through mainly
because of the ban on foreign players for three years. If there was a
bright spark, it must be the emergence of club teams - Selangor Public
Bank, who qualified for the Super League while MPPJ emerged as Malaysia
Cup champions.
These two clubs proved that with proper financial backing and
management, results can be obtained.
What do we want from Malaysian soccer? Is it to pack stadiums (with
foreign players as the drawcards) or build a strong national team even if
it means playing to empty stadiums with local players?
In two major assignments this year under coach Allan Harris, Malaysia
finished third behind Iraq and Bahrain in the Pre-Asian Cup and won a
bronze in the Vietnam SEA Games. Certainly not the best of results for a
team who have been preparing for at least four years.
Changing the coach is not going to help much because that is all the
talent we have - a situation that we created.
And with news that FAM want another foreign coach to take charge of the
team for the pre-World Cup tournament (in March next year), Malaysian
soccer looks like heading for more trouble.
And to suggest that even local coaches like Abdul Rahman Ibrahim and
Chow Kwai Lam can take over (if a foreign coach is not found), it is
indeed an irony.
Why have we not been using these coaches? Have they become top notch
coaches overnight or is it a matter of convenience or another short-term
measure?
Or is it because technical director Karl Weigang has a soft spot for
these coaches, having worked with them?
It is indeed puzzling to note that FAM are considering this option, just
three months before the competition.
After all, the Asian Football Confederation sit in our own backyard and
if we cannot get first hand information on the game, then something is
drastically wrong.
                            (END)

A hard act to follow

Bull Run Column @ Vietnam Sea Games 2003

AS the 22nd SEA Games in Vietnam came to an end with the torch flickering
out at My Dinh National Stadium in Hanoi at 9.15pm on Saturday, the
Philippines - who will host the next edition in November 2005 - were the
first to admit that it would be a hard act to follow.
As protocol dictates, it is expected of the successors to make such a
statement but this time around, the admission was genuine, as every other
competing nation will agree.
Vietnam are among the original members of the the South-East Asian
Peninsular Games Federation (now SEAGF), set up in June 1959, but they
were only hosting the Games for the first time, becoming the eighth
country to have done the job.
Only Laos, Cambodia and Timor-Leste, this year's debut nation, have yet
to do so.
Laos have indicated they wanted to host the 2009 Games.
But what an impression Vietnam have made by organising the events in Ho
Chi Minh City and Hanoi, with the latter being the main venue.
Indeed, Vietnam have passed with flying colours, and in the process,
even teaching the more experienced hosts a thing or two.
If there were any shortcomings, Vietnam should not be faulted at all,
certainly not due to the lack of efforts in ensuring everything goes
smoothly.
Of course, Datuk Sieh Kok Chi, Olympic Council of Malaysia secretary,
was the advisor to the hosts, but all his experience would have come to
nought if the Vietnamese had not worked hard to make the Games a huge
success.
Yes, Vietnam emerged overall medal champions for the first time, with
158 golds, 97 silvers and 91 bronzes.
But even before one starts pointing (if it has not been done already),
at Vietnam for having manipulated their status as hosts by winning most of
their medals through sports "alien" to others, let us take a look at
ourselves first.
Malaysia emerged overall medal champions at the last Games in Kuala
Lumpur, with a record haul of 111 golds, 75 silvers and 85 bronzes from a
total of 392 medals at stake.
So did the Malaysians also use underhand tactics to achieve their feat?
For starters, the SEAGF should be taken to task for allowing what has
happened.
Having agreed to Vietnam's proposals for the various sports, they have
no reasons to complain now.
Besides, it is always the case that the hosts normally reap the medal
harvest, as seen in the previous 21 editions, where 11 hosts have emerged
medal champions, and in others, finished overall best.
So if this is a trend, what is there to complain?
As for biased judging, it would indeed be grossly unfair to accuse
Vietnam of winning medals "with assistance", especially in combat or
subjective sports.
Two main factors have to be looked at.
Firstly, everyone will agree that the Vietnamese played a huge role in
motivating their athletes to be at their best in every event.
The SEA Games were given a new meaning in terms of support from fans for
every sport contested, as all the venues were filled not only by locals,
but also specially-arranged groups of Vietnamese supporting other
countries.
And these "fans" did not just make up the numbers or wave the respective
national flags, but they also "cheered" against the Vietnamese athletes!
Eric R. Buhain, the Philippines Sports Commission chairman who was a
former international swimmer who has travelled extensively during his
sporting days, said he has not seen anything like what he has witnessed in
Vietnam, in terms of the locals' passion.
"What I have experienced in Vietnam is unique. They have taught us what
patriotism is all about. and their passion has taught us how sports can
bring the whole nation together for one cause," said Buhain.
"I wish the Philippines will be able to demonstrate a similar fervour
and patriotism, and we will be trying very hard to do so."
Secondly, the Vietnamese athletes worked hard for their success.
Nguyen Hong Minh, the head of delegation of the Vietnamese contingent,
said their athletes were not only prepared for the Games, but also for the
future of the sports they were competing in.
Of the 750 athletes who competed, a majority of them were in training
for two years, regularly sent overseas for exposure and training, coached
by foreign expertise and competed in many pre-Games events in Vietnam.
"We not only focused on sports where we were medal potential, but also
paid equal attention to developing other sports with long-term goals in
mind."
It has not been all rosy for Vietnam either. They have had their fair
share of disappointments where favourites had fallen in the wake of keen
competition, but this they have learnt to accept as part and parcel of the
business.
As the Philippines begin to host their third edition, they will, even
with their experience, indeed be hard-pressed to match the Vietnamese.
But the Philippines have not wasted any time in getting ready, as
attested in Vietnam.
And the Philippines could well add a new dimension with their move to
marry sports and tourism - which is fast being coming a global trend in
the travel industry for many countries.
The Philippines Department of Tourism were in Vietnam in full force with
top officials from the Philippines Olympics Committee and Philippine
Sports Commission for this purpose.
The Philippines even have a theme song, Wow Philippines, to promote the
Games and their country.
                           (END)