The ugly Singaporean (16/11/1993 - The Malay Mail)

Publication : MM
Date : 16/11/1993
Headline : The ugly Singaporean


SINGAPORE are in the Malaysia Cup final. But their achievement would have
been laudable if only their fans had been as disciplined as the team.
I was surprised by the behaviour of the Singapore fans at the National
Stadium on Sunday night.
And this has nothing to do with me being a Malaysian.
My impression of Singapore fans had been one of high spirits and I have
never known them to be hostile towards their team's opponents.
This wasn't the case on Sunday. All right, they were not as hostile as
the fans in Kota Baru but still, it was unbecoming of Singaporeans -
particularly from a modern society - to engage in an exchange of words.
It started when Sarawak brought their crocodile mascot, Bujang Senang,
for the first time away from Kuching. But they didn't reckon on security
being stringent at the stadium.
The mascot was refused entry to the field as the team was about to go in
for their warm-up. But with the help of some Sarawak players, the mascot
was led onto it.
It was then that the Singapore fans clamored for their mascot - the
lion - to join Bujang Senang on the pitch.
Under normal circumstances, this would not have been allowed at a soccer
match. But Sunday was different.
Bujang Senang, on seeing the Lion trooping in, offered to shake hands but
the Lion surprisingly refused. Instead, it turned around and showed its
butt to Bujang Senang.
That sparked a personal duel between the two mascots. The situation was
defused when Singapore's Deputy Prime Minister Brig Gen Lee Shein Loo was
invited to meet the players from both sides.
Lee sportingly met the Sarawak players and officials before meeting the
Singapore players.
But when the names of the Sarawak players were announced, the capacity
55,000 crowd jeered.
There was more to come.
The Sarawak players, in a goodwill gesture, kicked souvenir balls to the
crowd after the introduction.
What followed was a very unsporting gesture. The Singapore fans urged
those who were lucky to get the balls to kick them back onto the field.
In the end, the balls given to the ball pickers seated on the tracks.
Surely, Singapore fans could have behaved better.
A Singapore newspaper reported the incident as an attempt by the Sarawak
players to bribe the fans into supporting them. How low can they go?
One Singapore fan from the grandstand even threw a mineral water bottle
at Sarawak coach Alan Vest when he got up from his bench to walk towards
the sidelines.
It may not be serious compared to other incidents in Malaysian stadiums
but what was alarming was that this happened in Singapore.
A veteran sportswriter in Singapore commented: "It is not surprising
because what you witnessed is a suppressed society letting off steam.
"They cannot behave in this manner anywhere else because they will be
hauled up.
"They will be hauled up in the stadium too, but the chances of getting
caught is slim in a crowd of 50,000. It is sad that this is happening in
Singapore."
The writer said it was great to see the National Stadium packed to the
brim again, but it lacked an atmosphere.
"I have been to various stadiums in Malaysia and even with a lesser
crowd but the feeling is more electrifying," he wrote.
"But here, we have the crowd reacting for all the wrong reasons. They do
not even know how to cheer their team."
The last straw was when Singapore FA and Singapore Sports Council
officials treated a group of Malaysian sportswriters without much respect.

What next, Vest? (The Malay Mail)

ALAN VEST, in his three-year tenure, has taken Sarawak from the backwaters
of Malaysian soccer to the forefront.
 If he decides to extend his contract with the Sarawak FA, the
possibility of the East Malaysian State progressing to become a major
force cannot be dismissed.
 But the question most Sarawak fans from Kuching to Miri are asking is:
Will Vest prolong his stay as coach?
 Vest, after having steered Sarawak to runnersup spot in the First
Division and semifinals of the Malaysia Cup this season, might have made
up his mind about his future.
 Or maybe not yet.
 Whatever decision Vest comes up with - his answer to the FA would
probably be sometime this week - it could point to where Sarawak are
heading.
 "I have to seriously think about a few things before giving my answer,"
said Vest after watching his side lose 2-1 to Singapore in the semifinal
second leg at the National Stadium on Sunday.
 Among the `few things' are offers from other States as well as a
national coaching job in another country.
 But Vest stressed that money or the need for a change would not be the
criteria for his decision.
 "I have enjoyed working in Sarawak. They are not only a nice bunch but
also, I was given a free hand as coach, which is a rarity in Malaysian
soccer," said Vest.
 "I have no complaints about the people I work with, but there are other
factors which I must seriously consider."
 He cited these factors as:
 * WHETHER he will be allowed to retain the players he wants and whether
the Sarawak FA can afford them if they seek a hike in salary;
 * WHETHER the FA can afford to sign the replacements he require;
 * WHETHER the present players - the foreigners and three Malacca-born
players - will still be available for Sarawak; and
 * THE fact that anymore infusion of players from West Malaysia might not
go down well with local sentiments.
 Vest said if he were to remain, it would have to be for another three
years.
 "I don't believe in short-term contracts because nothing much can be
achieved in that sort of time," he said.
 "There is still a lot to be done in Sarawak soccer and although I have
been very critical about Sarawak's development programme, I have realised
that this State have a short soccer history.
 "They don't have enough clubs for coaches and players to emerge or a
progressive League to cultivate the interests of players.
 "This is a growing State in soccer and obviously, it will take some time
before it catches up with the rest.
 "There has been a stronger following in recent years and hopefully, this
will mean something."
                              (END)

My best and bad year

S. SUBRAMANIAM yesterday bade farewell to Kuala Lumpur FA on a mixed note.
Mixed because he was sad to be ending a 12-year association but
satisfied because he managed to steer them to the only Cup which had
eluded them until this season - the FA Cup.
"KL might not have done well in the League but I am leaving with the
knowledge that I did my best for the team," said the 56-year-old
Subramaniam, who is now technical director of the Asian Football
Confederation (AFC).
Before this season, Subramaniam had also coached KL (formerly Federal
Territory) from 1982 to 1984 and thereafter became Director of Coaching.
He was recalled as coach this year, replacing Chow Kwai Lam.
In his report to KLFA on the Semi-Pro League team this season, he
mentioned that it had been a difficult and challenging period for him.
"Several players left for greener pastures while there were no adequate
replacements for those dropped," he wrote in his report.
"We had only three first choice players left from the 1992 season -
goalkeeper V. Murugan, defender Razip Ismail and midfielder Zoran
Nikolic."
The other players from the 1992 squad were Shahrin Abdul Majid, Subadron
Aziz, Raja Azlan Shah Raja Soib, S. Balachandran, Yap Wai Loon and K.
Vijatheran, but they were not regulars in 1992.
"We were forced to introduce the back-up squad players earlier than we
had anticipated."
Among the back-up players introduced this season were goalkeeper Azrin
Azram, defenders Fairuz Ahmad Mohamad Yunus, Ahmad Fairuz Abdul Aziz, R.
Ramachandran, L. Suresh, midfielders P.P. Loarance David and strikers
Amzanie Che Ani, T. Gopinath Naidu and Mohamad Sham Mohamad Nor.
"As we were short of experienced players in certain departments, we had
to recall two players - goalkeeper Yap Kam Choon and Chow Siew Yai - while
a third, Serbegeth Singh, volunteered to play for us."
Subramaniam said it was unfortunate that KL lost Bulgarian striker
Atanas Pashev after he was injured in a FA Cup second round match against
Armed Forces.
"His absence left a vacuum in attack and we had to depend a great deal
on raw strikers like Gopinath and Shahrin.
Subramaniam has some recommendations to KLFA for next season. Among them
are:
* APPOINT the manager immediately;
* COACH and manager should be given a free hand to select players needed
for vital positions;
* BONUS must be reviewed and the manager be given the prerogative to
decide additional bonus depending on the importance of certain matches;
and
* SEVERAL younger players can be considered for the new season. Among
them are goalkeepers Azrin, Hanim Ali, utility players S. Mathen and
Zairul Akramin Mohamad Darus, midfielders G. Chandrasegeran and Azrul Amri
Burhan and striker Mior Nor Samsul Kamal.
Even though KL failed to qualify for the Malaysia Cup, Subramaniam said
he had done his job to the best of his ability this year.
(

Going home (The Malay Mail)

MIKE BROWN did not waste any time getting a job after his team failed to
qualify for the Malaysia Cup soccer semifinals. Last week, he was
appointed assistant manager-cum-coach of English Premier League side
Coventry.
 Brown, 53, said he was undecided about his future after Pahang defeated
Perak 2-0 in their last Malaysia Cup group match at Lumut. He had a few
options, which included one in England.
 Obviously, it was Coventry, now managed by former England international
Phil Neal following the resignation of Bobby Gould last month.
 Gould, who a few seasons ago was linked to Pahang, is now a television
commentator. He quit following the team's 5-1 defeat by Queen's Park
Rangers.
 Brown's appointment at Coventry was reported in major dailies in England
last week.
 The Neal-Brown combination is not new because the duo had a stint
together at Bolton Wanderers.
 Brown has been involved in the game for the last 38 years, which
includes a playing career with Hull City (1953-66) and Lincoln City (one
season). He then joined Cambridge from 1968 to 1970 as player-coach.
 He was assistant manager at Oxford for two years from 1970 and manager
for four years. He moved on to West Bromich Albion as assistant team
manager before swicthing to Manchester United as assistant manager from
1981-1986. He was with Bolton for five years before coming to Pahang.
 Although there is a new management at Coventry, fans are still
clamouring for Gould's return. Last week, protesting Coventry fans invaded
the pitch at the end of the match against Sheffield United in support of
Gould.
 Nearly 400 suporters raced across the pitch at the end of a dreary 0-0
draw and stood in front of the directors box chanting: "Sack the board,
sack the board."
 They waved banners proclaiming: `Board out, Gouldy in a reference to
Gould's announcement that he was in touch with a local group wishing to
take over Highfield Road.
 It was learnt that he has had discussions with Singapore FA officials,
but nothing has been confirmed so far.
                              (END)

Kumaresan seeks longer overseas stint

NATIONAL cyclist M. Kumaresan returned from his three-month training in
Stuttgart, Germany, on Saturday, with the hope of winning a gold medal in
the Asian cycling championships in Ipoh in November, reports TONY MARIA-
DASS.
The 26-year-old cyclist who, besides training under coach Hans Holzer
and supervision of Karl Link and competing in weekend races, ended his
stint by competing in the World Championship in Norway last month.
And for the first time in a world-class field, Kumaresan managed to
compete the 186km road race, where he finished 132nd out of a field of
250.
Probably nothing to shout about, but Kumaresan had reasons to be happy.
"In my previous two outings with world class riders, in the 1988
Olympics and World championship in Stuttgart in 1990, I did not complete
the race, as I was left far behind and lapped by the other riders," said
Kumaresan.
"But this time around, I not only completed, but also did not get
lapped.
"This is indeed an achievement for me because I was not totally
outclassed.
"Besides, it was a tough and fast pace race where the cyclists were
averaging about 45kph and on downhill hitting about 85kph."
Kumaresan, who was sponsored by SportExcel, said the trip was indeed
benefical for him. He had previously trained in Germany on five other
occasions from 1988, also on short stints.
He felt that short stints do not help him totally.
"Most of the riders who competed in the World Championship have been
preparing and competing in races in Europe for the last six months.
"Even the Japanese cyclists have been in Europe for more than three
months preparing for the race."
Kumaresan said that the training methods in Europe is very advanced and
scientific.
"Their training, food and suppelements they take are so advanced," said
Kumaresan.
"They also do high-altitude training for pre-season which I have missed.
"To top it, the cyclists get top-level competition almost very week and
when I said that I race about 20 to 3O races a year, they were surprised,
because that is the number of races they compete in about three months.
"My stint in Stuttgart was beneficial, but I feel that I will benefit
more if I am based there for a longer period, probably seven months a
year."
Kumaresan said that he has definitely improved with his three-month
stint and was hoping to get a gold in Ipoh, although his actual target is
to win a gold at the Hiroshima Asian Games next year.
Kumaresan won one silver medal in the 30km point race and one bronze in
the 4km individual pursuit in 1991 Asian cycling championship in Beijing
and a silver in the point race in 1987 in Jakarta.

We quit!

YESTERDAY'S black day for Malaysian hockey marked the end of an era and
the beginning of another, with the teams failure to qualify for the World
Cup next year.
There is going to be a change of guard in the team as several senior
players are quitting, having made known their intentions earlier if
Malaysia failed to gain a ticket to Sydney.
Skipper Nor Saiful Zaini, veteran goalkeeper Ahmad Fadzil and centrehalf
Sarjit Singh said yesterdays defeat to Belgium was the end of their
national career.
"This is it ... I've had enough," said Saiful after the match. "I was so
confident we would qualify for the World Cup, but never expected our
dreams to end like this.
"No more. This is the end."
Said Ahmad: "Enough is enough. I have been at it for far too long."
Other seniors in Abdul hadi, Gary Fidelis and Soon Mustapha had also
expressed a desire to quit the team if they failed to qualify for the
World Cup.
All of them yesterday said there is nothing left to look forward to,
having failed to win a berth. They pointed out that they would be too old
for the next World Cup.
Among the team here in Poznan, only `keeper' Ahmad has appeared in the
World Cup Finals, in Bombay in 1981 - the last time Malaysia qualified for
the tournament.
Several players who had quit the national team earlier, had been
persuaded to make a return for this qualifying round. Among them were Nor
Saiful, Soon and even Lim Chiow Chuan who had retired after the Beijing
Asian Games.
Among the reasons the players cited for resigning then, was that they
were not well taken care of by the Malaysian Hockey Federation.
The MHF came up with incentive schemes but another storm brewed after
the Champions Trophy when they paid out only RM100 to the players.
However, the situation was calmed and the players were certainly in the
right frame of mind when they arrived in Poznan. Still, the MHF could have
come up with better and more lucrative incentives should the team qualify
for the World Cup.
Most of the seniors here said they were very keen about wanting to
qualify for Sydney. But the disappointment of failure, and their age
factor were the main reasons for announcing their retirement.

We quit! (The Malay Mail)

Reporting from Poznan, Poland

YESTERDAY'S black day for Malaysian hockey marked the end of an era and
the beginning of another, with the teams failure to qualify for the World
Cup next year.
There is going to be a change of guard in the team as several senior
players are quitting, having made known their intentions earlier if
Malaysia failed to gain a ticket to Sydney.
Skipper Nor Saiful Zaini, veteran goalkeeper Ahmad Fadzil and centrehalf
Sarjit Singh said yesterdays defeat to Belgium was the end of their
national career.
"This is it ... I've had enough," said Saiful after the match. "I was so
confident we would qualify for the World Cup, but never expected our
dreams to end like this.
"No more. This is the end."
Said Ahmad: "Enough is enough. I have been at it for far too long."
Other seniors in Abdul hadi, Gary Fidelis and Soon Mustapha had also
expressed a desire to quit the team if they failed to qualify for the
World Cup.
All of them yesterday said there is nothing left to look forward to,
having failed to win a berth. They pointed out that they would be too old
for the next World Cup.
Among the team here in Poznan, only `keeper' Ahmad has appeared in the
World Cup Finals, in Bombay in 1981 - the last time Malaysia qualified for
the tournament.
Several players who had quit the national team earlier, had been
persuaded to make a return for this qualifying round. Among them were Nor
Saiful, Soon and even Lim Chiow Chuan who had retired after the Beijing
Asian Games.
Among the reasons the players cited for resigning then, was that they
were not well taken care of by the Malaysian Hockey Federation.
The MHF came up with incentive schemes but another storm brewed after
the Champions Trophy when they paid out only RM100 to the players.
However, the situation was calmed and the players were certainly in the
right frame of mind when they arrived in Poznan. Still, the MHF could have
come up with better and more lucrative incentives should the team qualify
for the World Cup.
Most of the seniors here said they were very keen about wanting to
qualify for Sydney. But the disappointment of failure, and their age
factor were the main reasons for announcing their retirement.
                             (END)