World Cup Showcase (2006 - Malaysian Today)

World Cup Showcase

THE world’s greatest show-piece which comes once in four years, is well underway.

The build-up to the World Cup in Germany in Malaysia has been far the best in print media, electronic media, in form of advertisements from official sponsors and of course the telcos, who are the latest to join in the fray of the promotions.

Gone are the days when the Raykat contributed to bring a live telecast match in 1982 from Spain.

Today we have all 64 matches brought live to our living room.

Everyone cash in on the World Cup and it is only hoped that for Malaysia, that the World Cup will do some good for the game.

However, the fear is that there will be more harm done than good in Malaysia by the World Cup.

The ideal scenario would be that the World Cup which witnesses top class football played, will rub-off on Malaysian soccer.

But that would be asking too much, because more often than not, it is the bad habits that are picked up.

The chances that many a marriage and relationship is wrecked, while many others become paupers or some many virtually write their life off through heavy betting, lose their cars and properties through sheer greed to make easy money and probably get sacked for being inefficient at work or worst still coming up with one too many medical leaves.

Many become overnight experts in the game and will virtually know every player, coach, manager in the World Cup, but ask to name their local state team players and they will draw a blank.

Of course, the immediate response from these “overnight experts” is that “who watches local matches and they have no standard.”

Agreed, that Malaysian soccer lacks the class and charisma of the top teams in the world, but does not charity begins at home first.

It is probably going to take many more World Cup tournaments before Malaysia can dream of a team playing in one.

Until then, we just have to contended that the Malaysians can romance the World Cup by not just watching it live on the tubes, but have Malaysian involved in key positions in the tournament.

Among the Malaysians from the soccer fraternity who are considered the best soccer brains who are in Germany include Asian Football Confederation (AFC) secretary-general, Datuk Peter Velappan and his deputy, Datuk Paul Mony Samuel, FIFA Goal Programme manager in Malaysia, Winsdor John, who has the posh job as the general co-ordinator in Berlin – the venue of World Cup final -, Lim Kim Choon (technical study group), Dr Gurcharan Singh (medical), Nazri Abdullah (referees’ coordinator), R. Indran (security), and Lazarus Rokk (Media).

But it will be nothing like seeing a Malaysian team in the World Cup!

For that to happen, the Malaysian soccer team will have first start to win the Sea Games gold they last won in 1989 in Kuala Lumpur and then eye for the Asian title – be the Asian Cup or the Asian Games – and it is no easy feat.

There is something good happening with the National Under-20 team coached by K. Rajagopal and they have been dubbed as the future of Malaysian soccer.

But with the State FAs already trying to stake claim of these players for tournaments like the Malaysia Games and Malaysia Cup, despite these players through the FA of Malaysia having signed a MoU with the National Sports Council (NSC) for the team to be adopted fulltime.

This team has potential, but guarantee is there that they will not be “spoilt” like all our present players.

Unless the FA of Malaysia keeps a tight rein on these players, another potential reality maybe just turned to ashes once again.

And while hopes are placed on this team for a brighter future, it is not going to be permanent if serious development work is done by the State FAs steadily keep the supply for young and talented players coming through the line of production.

Otherwise, our hopes of a World Cup appearance will continue to be a far-fetched dream and Malaysians will only be known as good organisers and administrators and who even have the AFC headquarters in Bukit Jalil, but still do not have the quality to make an impact in the beautiful game.

A review of the SUKMA in order (2006 - Malaysian Today)

A review of the SUKMA in order!

THE Malaysia Games or SUKMA has to be reviewed immediately, if it’s original goals are to be achieved for the future of Malaysian sports.

The Games in its eleventh edition end in Alor Setar, Kedah on Sunday, but there has been one too many negative issues which has been surfacing throughout the event, that the owners of the Games, the National Sports Council (NSC), will be addressing the issue.

Sports Minister, Datuk Azalina Othman Said herself has expressed her disappointment that the Games despite running into millions of Ringgit to organise, has not been unearthing enough talent for future national athletes in the various sports.

The growing emphasis by States to win gold medals at all expense, has given rise to pinching of athletes, athletes themselves marketing themselves to best offers, while States themselves too offer lucrative monetary rewards, to lure the best athletes.

Many States have been neglecting the basic essence of the Games, which is identify talent and develop them to compete in the Games.

With the endless number of controversies arising Games after Games, it only underlines that the State simply do not understand the rules of the Games which has been clearly spelt out. It is the onus on the States when they register their athletes that they fulfill all the requirement and are bona fide athletes of their State, but there has been cases of States either being ignorant of the rules or blatantly flouting it.

And it is sinful to see host of the Games, trying to outdo the previous host to make the “Best Games Ever” and get blinded by trying to have the best opening and closing ceremonies and spend millions of Ringgit, instead spending the money on development or giving more emphasis to the organisation of each event with quality, fairness and efficiency.

To make matters worse, State bring athletes to the Games just to make up the numbers and forget about quality and standards.

A prelude to what was in store for the Kedah Games by the athletes was probably displayed in the opening ceremony by athletes of the various States, except Police, in the march-past, where their behavior was totally unbecoming of sportmen and sportwomen, especially in the presence of dignitaries, including the Sultan and Sultanah of Kedah.

When discipline is compromised from the very start of the Games, it is little surprise with all the incidents that happened during the Games.

There has also been mention that since the Malaysia Games, is a national Games, it should be held at a permanent venue – that National Sports Complex in Bukit Jalil, so that there is better control of the Game from all aspects.

Of course, the next host Terengganu followed by Malacca, are going to protest fervently as they will lose out on the opportunity upgrade sporting facilities, not to mention the money-making exercise which goes on in every Games hosted.

Maybe, till the Games come permanently to Bukit Jalil, the coming Games should see the respective national sports association take charge of managing the respective events, with the host’s State sports association providing the support-service, to eliminate all the accusation of bias judging and poorly run events.

Probably, NSC may also want to consider reducing the number of events, probably just sticking to the eight-core sports and maybe include another four sports, which is well managed and draws good participation.

To ensure that there is quality in the Malaysia Games, it will be appropriate that a selection process is held through the District Games, which is being mooted by Azalina, which is expected to be held in between the Malaysia Games years.

Only the best in the District Games should be allowed to compete in the Malaysia Games, or athletes who better the performance of the best performer from their respective States in other meets like the State or national meet of the respective sports.

Even Olympic Council of Malaysia, president Tunku Tan Sri Imran Tuanku Jaafar, totally agrees that a qualifying standard has to be set to check the deteriorating standards in the Malaysian Games.

OCM will be having their annual conference on July 29 and the topic is about Malaysia Games. It is hope that all National Sports Associations, National and State Sports Councils, athletes and others will give their input with the interest of the Games at heart.

The feedback will certainly be useful before NSC reviews the Games and the Malaysia Supreme Council meet to deliberate on the matter and take a final stand on the future of the Games.

Sukma poised for new directions (2006 - Malaysian Today)

Sukma poised for new directions

THE Sukma (Malaysia Games) should be taking a new dimension with some positive changes expected to take place to take the youth Games to the next level after the OCM-NSC Annual Sports Conference last Saturday at the OCM Indoor Sports Complex.
After the Youth and Sports Minister, Datuk’ Azalina Othman Said in her opening address in the morning had paved the path for “no holds barred” conference when she boldly asked the participants, if they were ready to make changes to take the Games to the next level after 20 years eleven editions and ten hosts.
The fact that she provoked the participants who comprised National Sports Council, Olympic Council of Malaysia, State Sports Councils, National Sports Associations and State Government Sports Governors, that she was asking what they wanted of this Games and was going to give her full backing, got the representations all worked up when they broke for workshops.
In the workshops the issues discussed were Events and Rules, Athlete Issues, Issues of Governance and As The National Sports Association Sees It.
The fact that the conference was well represented by all involved in the Malaysia Games which saw about 200 people attend, was further prove that they were serious about the fate of the Games.
OCM president Tunku Tan Sri Imran Tuanku Jaafar, taking the cue from Datuk Azalina, further underlined the importance of the Conference when he addressed the past, the present and future of the Games in his address of the participants.
The fact that Datuk Azalina had said that the resolutions at the end of the conference which will be further discussed and fine tuned by a committee comprising and OCM, NSC and representatives from different sections from the conference, before being submitted by Tunku Imran to the Cabinet Committee for Sports Development chaired by the Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, further underlined the importance of this Conference.
The consensus to agree of Datuk Azalina’s that the Games should be athletes based and that the States should use the huge allocations given to the Games smartly, with welfare of the athletes being given top priority, meant there was better days ahead for the Games.
Matters like attention should be focused towards incentives like scholarships, training and progress assistance, rather than cash further meant that it was thinking of the future of the athletes to attain the best from them and at the same create a career path for them.
The existing objectives of the Games, will definitely be reviewed for better impact of the future of Malaysian sports.
Athletes and the competition will be the most important elements of the Games.
The brainstorming sessions at the workshops indeed did see important resolutions made, so that the Games will not continued to be marred by petty issues like eligibility of athletes, battle to have established athletes compete for their respective States with lure of money and not understanding basis rules of the Games, will be a thing of the past, especially after the Games in existence for 20 years.
It is about time to make the Games more relevant to present national aspirations and needs.
The Games has played its role over the years, but of late it some what has lost track and it about time to get on track and take it to the next level.
Indications from what transpired from the Conference, certainly indicates that better years are ahead.
More importantly, the fact that National Sports Council (NSC) who were the stakeholders of the Games, will now will be closely with OCM to organize future Games, is indeed a milestone in the Games moving to a new era.

Goodbye Malay Mail, and thank you! (28/04/2006 - The Malay Mail)

Publication : MM
Date : 28/04/2006
Headline : Goodbye Malay Mail, and thank you!


AFTER 29 years of working for NSTP, it is with mixed feelings that I end
my ties with The Malay Mail.
Having spent most of my adult life at The Malay Mail, this place had
been a second home.
It was my late uncle John Pillai who introduced me to the newspaper
industry back in 1977, when I was doing my Higher School Certificate
(HSC). He invited me to join the New Straits Times Press as a temporary
library clerk.
My uncle was then the education writer for NST, and also the chairman
of the NSTP Sports Club. As I had played soccer for my alma mater (St
John's Institution), which won the Selangor Schools title in 1975, he
encouraged me to play for the NSTP team in the Inter-Company Games
against Singapore Straits Times.
Soccer being my first love, I jumped at the opportunity and the rest is
history. But I did not neglect my studies and completed my HSC as a
further education class student - going for classes after work!
Not long after joining the NST library, I got hooked on sports writing,
which was not surprising really. I was in charge of the sports section in
the library, which meant constant interaction with the sportswriters of
those years - the late Mansoor Rahman, Syed Nazri, Tony Francis, Ian
Pereira, George Das, R. Velu, R. Nadeswaran, Terence Netto, Fauzi Omar,
James Ritchie, Cheryl Dorall, P'ng Hong Kwang, S.C. Sekaran, Gabriel Lim
and Peter Martinez.
By 1979, I was already stringing for The Malay Mail and two years
later, was transferred to the paper full-time.
I must express my gratitude to Terence, for encouraging me to give
sports journalism a shot, to the late Francis Emmanuel (deputy sports
editor then), a legendary figure in the sports circle, and to Tony
Francis, the sports editor during my early years as a cub reporter. They
played a key role in my choosing sports journalism as a career.
Terence taught me how to cover football matches, while Francis and
Tony, who as editors were a reporter's nightmare, groomed me into what I
am today. Certainly, I learnt from the best.
I stuck to The Malay Mail, for better or for worse, rising from cub
reporter to sports editor.
And the secret of my staying power, although I was overlooked numerous
times for a pay increase or promotion? A passion for sports, particularly
Malaysian sports.
I even decided to practise what I preached by coaching and managing the
NST soccer team (later known as the Malay Mail FC) for 15 years.
It was the then CEO of NSTP, Datuk Nik Ibrahim Kamil (above), who asked
me to manage the team. Later, with the support of previous Malay Mail
editors, Datuk Fauzi Omar and Ahirudin Attan, this KL League soccer team
rose to be the first Klang Valley club side to play in the Premier League
of the professional M-League for three seasons from 2000.
Still, in all those years of excitement and frustration, I never
imagined that I would leave the paper before my retirement.
There had been other voluntary separation schemes at NSTP but it never
occurred to me to leave Malay Mail. Even with the most recent one, it was
only on the last day of exercising the option that I submitted my
application.
Having been passionate about Malaysian sports all my life, I could not
come to terms with the fact that local sports, especially at schools
level, the future of the nation, was not going to be given priority in
the new-look Malay Mail.
I would have been a hypocrite to stay on and not do what I love the
most - support local sports.
Sports journalism has taken me to places other people might only dream
about, and introduced me to personalities so interesting and amazing, all
of which are experiences I treasure and which, I believe, have built my
character over the years.
Truly, in whatever way one is involved in sports - be it as an athlete,
a coach, an official, an administrator, a volunteer, a fan or a
sportswriter - there are great values to be learnt from it.
Sports is certainly an integral part of nation building.
I have loved every second of my association with sports, and have no
regrets.
Thankfully, my son Alwin, who is doing his A-levels, is a sports lover,
having "covered" soccer matches with me from the tender age of four. I
hope he will touch base with Malaysian sports one day in his own way and
make a difference.
Yes, the time has come for me to move on, but rest assured that I am
not going too far from sports.
I am indeed honoured and grateful that the new editor of The Malay
Mail, M. Zul, has asked me to continue with this column. The column will
ensure I don't become just a memory - in journalism, you are only as
good as your last byline.
However, whether I continue with the column, is left to seen.
I am going to miss the old Malay Mail, but I wish everyone who is
staying on to launch the new newspaper the very best.
The Malay Mail turns 110 this year and it should live on for another
100 years or more.
If I had my way, The Malay Mail would revert to being an afternoon
paper, which was its forte. But all things said and done, I believe the
spirit of The Malay Mail will live on.
I take this opportunity to thank all The Malay Mail readers for their
support and criticisms, but above all for believing in its sports section.

Failure, but where do we go from here? (21/04/2006 - The Malay Mail)

Publication : MM
Date : 21/04/2006
Headline : Failure, but where do we go from here?


THE best planned and managed programme can go astray.
The national hockey team's debacle in Changzhou, China, in the World
Cup qualifiers where they are now consigned to the 9th-12 play-offs, is
certainly one of those programmes which have gone awry.
There was so much hope in the team, especially after their Melbourne
Commonwealth Games bronze medal effort four weeks ago.
The opening 1-0 defeat to Japan in the opening match did a lot of harm.
In terms of preparation - training, friendly matches and competition -
everything was taken care of.
The team of 18 players also had 19 officials to take care of them -
team manager Nur Azmi Ahmad, his assistant Tai Beng Hai, coach Wallace
Tan, his assistant Perak Abu, a doctor, two psychologists (one local and
one foreign), a physiotherapist, a fitness trainer, two masseurs, a
dietician, two cooks, a video cameraman - who were directly involved with
the team while Lim Chiow Chuan (AsiaComm project manager), Murali Menon
(advisor to the Cabinet Committee on Sports), Paul Lissek (development
technical director) and Sarjit Singh (National Juniors coach) were also
present.
So where did we go wrong?
Some blamed the chilly weather, players falling sick or injured, the
pressure to qualify, not being able to peak for two tournaments in a
short spell, too many cooks spoiling the soup, under-estimating their
opponents, lack of capable substitutes and so on.
Everyone will have a reason but the bigger question is, what happens
after this? What we need is constructive criticisms.
This scribe has his own views but talked to coaches of past national
teams from different eras to come up with a more balanced view.
Among the coaches I spoke to were Datuk R. Yogeswaran (MHF coaching
chairman and former national player in the 1960s and coach), C.
Paramalingam (former national centre-forward in the 1960s and coach), Sri
Shanmuganathan (skipper of the 1975 World Cup semi-finalist national team
and former coach) and Stephen Van Huizen (former national player in the
1980s and 1990s and coach).
Each had his view but all agreed that what happens after this will
decide the future of Malaysian hockey.
Losing matches, especially narrow loses is part and parcel of the game,
but being fried by the French who inflicted a 4-1 defeat, is embarrassing.
It was obvious attention was not paid to France, who finished eighth in
the Junior World Cup in Hobart in 2001. Malaysia finished 12th.
Inviting the French to play friendly matches recently did more good for
them.
But utmost on the minds of all, was the December Doha Asian Games,
where the champion will qualify for the Beijing Olympics.
Will the team be able to recover from this debacle? Is there going to a
revamp?
Are we going to allow our emotions to rule or make rational and
probably unpopular decision to make things right?
Now is the time for the best hockey brains in Malaysia to come together.
For that to happen, the team have to be oozing with character - from
the team manager and coaches to players.
There is without doubt the present team needs further fine tuning in
many areas - starting from the basics.
We also have to ask whether our local competition is good enough for
our national players to excel in international competitions.
It is a common belief that the strength of the local competition will
reflect the performance of the national team in international
competitions.
It would be interesting to see what Wallace has to say in his final
report.
Emphasis must be paid to the report and not just push into a cabinets.
Hockey is one of the eight core sports the Government is giving full
support and thisn is why they have to rise from this failure!

NSAs must now focus on the grassroots (14/04/2006 -The Malay Mail)

Publication: MM
Date : 14/04/2006
Headline : NSAs must now focus on the grassroots

NATIONAL Sports Associations (NSAs) have lots more to do, especially in
developing their respective sports at grassroots level, now that the
Government have come out in full support of sports by funding the
training of elite athletes.
This was the strong stand taken by Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM)
president, Tunku Tan Sri Imran Tuanku Ja'afar, when he met editors from
the electronic and print media at a luncheon yesterday.
And Tunku Imran is correct because the Government - through the
Ministry of Sports and the National Sports Council - have virtually
funded the cost of training elite athletes, especially for the eight core
sports.
Thus, this leaves the NSAs with more time, manpower and also money to
channel their energy into developing the basics of their respective
sports.
In recent years, there is no denying that most NSAs have neglected
grassroots development and just depended on the schools to carry out that
role.
And sadly, the schools alone cannot do the job for these NSAs because
they have far too many sports to handle in a calendar year. And each
sport will be lucky if it can get two to three months of attention in a
year.
Tunku Imran stressed it is imperative the respective NSAs give
immediate attention to the matter because their athletes in the elite
squad will not be there forever. Replacements must be found, and
programmes must be in place churning out new talent.
"Without doubt, the monetary burden to train elite athletes has been
taken off the NSAs' shoulders. As such, they should channel their
attention towards grooming rising stars, finding new talents and
promoting their respective sports so that they would have a wider base
for selection," said Tunku Imran.
He, however, added that at the end of the day, the NSAs are the ones
who should bear the responsibility of success or failure of their
athletes, because they are the ones who spotted, groomed and nurtured
them into championship material.
The NSC can provide all the training, competition exposure and
guidance, but they are actually working on athletes provided by the NSAs
from the start.
If NSAs provide half-baked athletes or who do not have the potential to
reach international standards, then the NSC cannot be blamed for not
reaching the targets.
In a nutshell, it just means that although there is tremendous support
of sports by the Government, NSAs still have a key role to play in the
development of sports.
NSAs cannot be waiting for hand-outs and surrender the responsibility
of moulding champions to the NSC.
NSC are the supporting body to NSAs, and it pointless blaming NSC each
time there is a failure, because they should actually be blaming
themselves.
Take the FA of Malaysia (FAM) for instance. They were regarded as one
of the richest associations not so long ago, but ever since the
withdrawal of Dunhill as their main sponsors, they have fallen on hard
times.
Maybe it is a blessing in disguise that Dunhill pulled out as sponsors
because FAM were, in a way, getting too comfortable and complacent.
But the changed scenario has seen FAM being made to work hard to bring
in new sponsors. And since none of these sponsors are in the mould of
Dunhill, they have to look for multi-sponsorship.
And FAM have to oblige all their sponsors by giving them their money's
worth in terms of exposure and mileage.
They can no longer sit back and hope the money will drop on their laps.
And it was under these circumstances that FAM have secured yet another
new partner in AirAsia.
And when AirAsia Group chief executive officer, Datuk Tony Fernandes,
revealed at the luncheon how the sponsorship came about, it spoke of the
many associations who just sit around and hoping sponsors will come to
them.
Last November, Fernandes was invited by FAM independent member Khairy
Jamaluddin to speak at the marketing aspect of the FIFA Com-Unity
Workshop, organised by FAM.
He was bombarded with questions on why AirAsia were linked to
Manchester United, but could not support local soccer.
His answer was simple: "No one approached us."
That could have prompted FAM secretary-general Datuk Seri Dr Ibrahim
Saad to get cracking, resulting in the sponsorship deal.
This just goes to show how many associations take things for granted
and just sit around waiting for things to happen, when they themselves
can set things in motion.
And judging by Fernandes' enthusiasm yesterday and based on what he has
done with AirAsia with his deputy CEO Kamarudin Meranun when they started
off with just two planes, 4 1/2 years ago, FAM can expect to soar to
greater heights.
As Fernandes himself puts it; "There is nothing wrong to dream, as long
as one works hard to make it a reality."

Short-term goals that fell short of target (07/04/2006 - The Malay Mail)

Publication : MM
Date : 07/04/2006
Headline : Short-term goals that fell short of target


ANOTHER post-mortem, after another outing in the sports arena, all sorts
of excuses and reasons for falling short, and promises to do better in
coming events.
What's new? It has been happening over and over of late, that it has
become like a recurring bad dream.
But what is the real issue here?
Basically, it is a case of having too big ambitions over too short a
period.
And Malaysian sports authorities are often the guilty ones, with these
short-term goals.
Time and again, after every performance that came short of
expectations, the powers-to-be will come up with new programmes.
Nothing wrong with new programmes to make amends for previous ones
which did not live up to the mark, or fell short.
But the problem arises when these are only short-term programmes.
Let's back-track a little to get a clearer picture.
Immediately after the Athens Olympics debacle when the Malaysian
contingent returned empty-handed two years ago, we came up with the 2006
Gemilang programme and even declared that 10 golds and possibly more
would be achieved at the Doha Asian Games - better than the previous best
of seven golds at the 1966 Bangkok Asiad.
Then came along the AsiaCom project.
We hired experts, with many of them surprisingly coming from Australia.
Left out were proven personnel responsible for success in some sports.
Changes were made mid-stream.
We had the Melbourne Commonwealth Games as a testing ground for the
progress of the programmes, and again a 10-gold target was set.
Once again, we fell short, and we are back to the drawing board to find
out what went wrong, as we try to redeem ourselves eight months down the
line in Doha.
When are we going to learn that we cannot change the face and fate of
Malaysian sports with short-term programmes?
After each debacle, we are still dealing with the same athletes who
have failed and hope they would improve by leaps and bounds overnight.
They are going to compete against almost the same athletes they have
lost to, or could not even hold a candle to.
Let us not forget their opponents are only going to improve further,
and they have more catching up to do.
More often than not, we in Malaysia love to brag about our own
preparations, but do not take into account what the other countries are
doing for coming competitions.
We hardly check out our competitors' latest performances, or know what
we are up against.
We only become surprised when we meet them on the arena, pool or courts!
Yes, we do well at regional tournaments, like the SEA Games, but we
keep forgetting time and again, that they are the lowest level of sports.
In fact, if we cannot do well in the SEA Games, we have no business
spending millions of ringgit on sports.
But let us look at the bigger picture and have more realistic
preparations.
Let us not be fooled time and time again by these foreign experts
telling us what our athletes can achieve, because they have to say nice
things and promise the world. Because if they do not, they will not have
a job!
It is not that our sports officials do not know of the difficult task
ahead, but it is just at times they refuse to accept it and hope a magic
wand will be waved and everything will look rosy for Malaysian sports.
It does not work that way.
We have to get back to the basics, and have long-term programmes and
stop setting gold medal targets just for the sake of setting them.
It is about time, we set long-term goals for five to 10 years, and work
towards them with a set of athletes who are focused, have the desire to
do well and bring honours to the nation through sacrifice, determination,
discipline, dedication, sweat, toil and even bleed, if needed.
Mind-sets of athletes have to be changed and tuned to what is required
to produce champions.
Of course, we have a few already in the mould, and these are the
athletes who will time and again bring honours to the nation.
But we should have a bigger pool of such athletes for all the money we
are spending on sports.
Again, it is not a revamp we are looking at Malaysian sports, but a
revolution!
Since even higher standards are going to be set for the Doha Asian
Games than the Commonwealth Games, we better brace ourselves for another
disappointment. This is because it is going to take a miracle to see the
majority of our athletes who have not been doing well, to turn into
overnight champions!
Let us start looking at long-term plans, with realistic targets, and
also with sports that are capable of meeting international challenges,
and end our wishful thinking.