Give priority to security

IN the wake of acts of hooliganism by local fans at last Sunday’s AFF Cup semifinal first leg between Malaysia and Vietnam, it is time the FA of Malaysia, all state FAs and clubs appoint security chiefs.

I am not talking about incorporating police officers into their security committee but hiring professional security officers for their respective stadiums.

These officials will be responsible for planning the security and deploying their men to ensure everything is in order. This includes closed-circuit television through which the security manager can monitor the stadium, spot trouble and act swiftly.

This is going to cost money but shouldn’t FAM, the state FAs and clubs spend money on security rather than wait for lives to be lost?

It is no secret some Malaysian fans are turning into the kind of hooligans seen in Europe.

This is a dangerous trend that needs to be nipped in the bud.

It is great the stadiums are filling up again these days, whether it is an international, M-League or Malaysia Cup match. Cheer all you want for the national or local team, but don’t forget your sporting spirit.

For more families today, football matches have become a way to spend time together.

The last thing we want to see is the women and children getting hurt in the stadiums.

It was indeed a sad sight to see Vietnamese women cowering in fear as their male companions were assaulted by some unruly Malaysian fans last Sunday.

I was told by a fan – Nur Fatin Najihah, a final year physiotherapist undergraduate – who, on the way home from the match with her family, saw a Vietnamese man being assaulted while his wife who was holding a baby watched in horror.

Fatin’s father Fadzil immediately got out of their car to stop the assault. He showed the Vietnamese fan that there are Malaysian fans who believe in fair play.

I am writing this column before the return leg clash in Hanoi. I don’t know what will transpire at the My Dinh Stadium, but I hope the Vietnamese fans don’t reciprocate the action of a small group of unruly Malaysians.

It is worth mentioning smoke bombs and flares have become a common sight at matches in Malaysia despite being banned.

FAM and various states have been fined for such incidents. In fact, the national body was only recently fined US$10,000 (RM34,895) by the Asian Football Confederation for poor spectator conduct in a friendly between Malaysia and the Philippines.

This is money that can be better spent on beefing up security at the stadiums to avoid trouble in the first place.

Then, security heads can be held responsible for any breach as was the case in Spain where the government ordered the sacking of the security heads of football clubs Atletico Madrid and Deportivo Coruna.

On Tuesday, Junior Security Minister Francisco Martinez announced the move to a parliamentary commission investigating the incident where fans went on a rampage with metal bars and knives hours before the Nov 30 match. One fan died.

Spain’s Football Federation and government-controlled Higher Sports Council have said tougher sanctions on clubs over violent behaviour by supporters will come into force on Dec 15.

Surely we do not want to wait for a riot before acting. The Selangor police did well in swiftly releasing photographs of the individuals involved in the fracas on Sunday.

Five of those surrendered to the police, had their statements recorded and released.

They will be called to assist the investigation.

Ten others have yet to surrender and been have asked to do so quickly. But I feel the police should be firmer by issuing warrants of arrest.

The police need to show that they are serious about clamping down on hooliganism and take stern action to deter others from following suit in the future.

Above all, we have to clear the bad image that these few unruly fans have painted to our visitors and football fraternity. We need to show that we do not condone violence in sports.

Tony Mariadass is a sports journalist
with more than three decades of
experience and is passionate about
local sports. He can be reached at
tmariadass@gmail.com
Twitter handle: @tmariadass

'Prof' returns to grassroots

By Tony Mariadass

tmariadass@gmail.com

If there is complete footballer in the country, it must be Abdul Nasir Yusof or better known at ‘Prof Nasir’.

The former international who hails from Johor has spent almost his entire life with football and he is not about to give up at his late age of 53.

Complete footballer

Nasir is among the rare breed of footballers in Malaysia who had started as a schoolboy star to graduate from one step to another to become a national player and then when he quit, he continued as a coach.

And at each level Nasir has acquired success which many can only dream of.

Having from the 80s era when under coach K. Sugumaran, Johor became a force at the youth level emerging joint Razak Cup champions with Kelantan in 1981 and champion in 1982 defeating Terengganu, Nasir logged in more than 40 years of life to football.

Nasir, who was already noted for his midfield prowess from his early playing days playing with the likes Lahad Datu, Khalid Shahdan, Ismal Ibrahim, Salim Mohd Noor, Dollah Salleh and Nasir Mohamad Noor.

These group of players went on to win Johor’s first Malaysia Cup in 1985 defeating then Federal Territory (now Kuala Lumpur 2-0). Nasir played for Johor for 15 seasons.

Nasir, a member of the first Tiger squad in 1982 under coaches by Ahmad Shafie and Abdul Rahman Ibrahim, graduated to the national team the same year making his debut in the New Delhi Asian Games.

Nasir also had the honour of playing alongside legendary George Best when he appeared as a guest player for the Tiger’s team against the national team. Kevin Keegan had also played as a guest player for the Tiger’s team in the Merdeka tournament in 1984, but Nasir was already playing for the national team coached by the late Englishman Frank Lord.

Nasir capped 76 international caps before he quit in 1994 after playing in Pre-Asian Cup tournament.

Family of footballers

Nasir who comes from a family 15 siblings was the apple of his late father Haji Mohamad Yusof, who played for Johor in 1938 and 1939 and left disillusioned because some of the bad habits that came with the game which saw players indulging in drinking and smoking.

But that did not stop the headmaster of Lembaga Kemajuan Tanah School in Tebrau in 1967 from encouraging his children to take up the game when he formed the school team with six of his sons and Nasir was only seven.

While Nasir went all the way don national colours and make football his way of life, his younger sister Samiaza had played for the state and national women’s team, while his brothers Taibah played for Johor in 1984-85 and Nor Hakim and Nor Halim (1986-1987).

Among Nasir’s proudest moment with Johor include winning the double title in 1991 when they bagged the Semi-Pro League and Malaysia Cup title under coach Michael Urukalo.

As a national player, Nasir played in the Asian Games, Sea Games, Merdeka tournament, pre-World Cup, pre-Olympic, pre-Asian Cup, Bangladesh President Cup, Seoul President’s Cup and the 1991 Malaysia versus England friendly international match in June 1991.

Coaching career

With football in his blood, it was only natural that Nasir with all his experience gained from his playing days and known for his brains for the game, he imparted his knowledge to the up and coming players.

Nasir being among the early FA of Malaysia A Licence holders (his licence number is  0021), has been involved in coaching at various levels – from youth academy in Johor (1998-1999), assistant coach with Johor State team (1997-1997; 2003-04; 2008-2010), Johor President’s Cup (2002), MP Muar Fc (2011-2012) youth development coach at national level (2007-2008) and national assistant coach (2004 – 2007).

Asked if he had any regrets that he was not given the national coach job, he simply replied: “It is every football coach’s dream to be a national coach. But I was not given an opportunity, but I do not begrudge it.”

Asked if he had applied for the national coach job recently which was given to his teammate and friend, Dollah, he said: “No I did not. I believe that the national body know the coaches in Malaysia and if they feel that someone has the credentials and capabilities to coach the national team, they should offer him the position.

“But I am glad for Dollah and even last week him in Singapore and we met and exchanged some notes. I wish him all the best for the semifinal match against Vietnam. He is doing his best under the circumstances, but we cannot expect overnight miracles.

“Everyone coach needs time to instil his philosophy of the game and finalising his team. I strongly believe that Dollah is a good coach with great amount of experience, but he needs time.”

Accolades

Nasir who has earned the reputation as a midfield maestro and for his thinking qualities as ‘Professor’ has won several awards during his career which includes the Best Midfield player award from SAM Glamoir World of Sport 1992 and even in his veteran days, he earned the best midfielder player’s award in 2011 at the 1^st Ex-Internationals Veteran Football tournament.

And more recently, Nasir was inducted to the Johor FA Hall of Fame – the first local player to be given the honour – after Yugoslav Ervin Boban was inducted earlier.

Back to basics

Having gone through the cycle in football, Nasir in May decided that he wants to give more to football and this time which remains a legacy.

Nasir, has setup the ‘D’Prof Football Academy’ (D’Prof Legends – DPL) to groom fresh talent from the state of Johor.

“I have always wanted to work at grassroots and develop players. But I have been busy with one thing or other. But now finally, I have time on my hand and have decided that I start this academy,” said the father of four.

“I believe there is tremendous amount of talent in Johor waiting to be tapped and given the opportunity to be guided to nurture their talent.”

Nasir has setup two centres - one in Skudai and the other in Setia Tropika.

“I have about 100 children aged from eight to 15 attending and have ten coaches who are assisting me.

“It is my wish to develop several players for the future of Malaysian football as part of my contribution to the game that has been my life.”

Nasir also hopes that Malaysia will soon come with a Malaysian style of play to stamp their authority.

“We have done it in the past with players like the late Mokhtar Dahari and his teammates and I see no reason why we cannot do it again. It is no use trying to copy styles of other nations when we do not have the players of that calibre to play that way.

“We have our own qualities and strength. Let us use it to make a formidable team. We are a Malaysian team with qualities from a multi-racial society. Blending all the qualities we will make a very versatile team.”

While Nasir dreams on to see the day Malaysian football will be branding their very style of play, he is contended with a full life from football as he returns to continue do his small part to keep on contributing to Malaysian football.

Keep your feet on the ground

COMMENTARY   

 Level Field  

Keep your feet on the ground

Everyone, from players, officials, fans and politicians to even sports journalists and commentators, seems to be euphoric about Malaysia qualifying for the Asean Football Federation (AFF) Cup semifinal after having - narrowly - beaten Singapore last Saturday.

I don't want to be a party-pooper but the win must be seen for what it truly is and we have to approach the first leg of the semifinal against Vietnam with humility.

There is nothing great about beating Singapore. After all, it is a traditional rival that is ranked lower (158) than us (155) by FIFA.

To top it all, the victory came during injury time through a penalty kick awarded by the brave Omani referee Al Kaf Ahmed Abu Bakar Said after Singapore’s Hafiz Abu Sujad challenged Amri Yahyah in the box.

The Singaporeans protested but to no avail. In the replay, Hafiz is seen making contact with Amri’s back, although the latter was already on his way down after jumping high to meet a cross. It just looks as if Hafiz and another defender Shakir Hamzah went for the aerial ball too and there seems no intention to bring Amri down.

But the referee saw something else and his decision was final.

Malaysia were lucky to have got that break in the final minutes of the match for Safiq Rahim to step up and score.

Indra Putra Mahayuddin’s goal that came minutes later, to me, is nothing to shout about. 

In a tactical decision, Singapore pushed all eleven men into Malaysia’s box when they got a corner in the dying minutes as an equaliser would have seen them qualify for the semifinal. At that point, it did not matter if they lost 2-1 or 4-1.

As it turned out, their gamble did not pay off and in the counter- attack, while goalkeeper Hassan Sunny was trying to get back to his position, Indra had an open goal in front of him.

Of course, it took composure for Indra to score with the Singapore defenders rushing towards him, so all the credit goes to him.

All I am saying is that let us not go overboard.

Can you imagine the hullabaloo if the score had remained at 1-1 and Malaysia were shown the exit?

Meanwhile, the scene of a group of commentators from a private Malaysian station celebrating like fans went viral in social media. Where is the impartiality of sports journalists and commentators? They should have been doing their job instead of joining the fans in their celebration.  

The same people who sang the team their praises, jumping from their seats screaming with joy, would have been the first to tear the team apart if they had lost.

National coach Dollah Salleh would have been crucified, goalkeeper Khairul Fahmi Che Mat would have been massacred for his blunder in Singapore in finding the equaliser, Safee Sali would have been a punching bag for indiscipline -- he was caught on camera smoking -- and the brickbats would have been endless.

Let us not forget how we ranted against referee Al Kaf Ahmed after he flashed Gary Steven Robbart a second yellow card, thus expelling him from the game against Myanmar before halftime.

This is the same referee who gave Malaysia a lifeline on Saturday.

Everyone must realise that all that the victory over Singapore has given Malaysia is borrowed time.

If we take Vietnam lightly just because we are playing at home first, we may suffer the consequences.

A good friend of mine and a senior sports journalist from Singapore, Suresh Nair, assessed the game in this manner:

"It's a truism that you play your hardest until the final whistle. The defending champions (Singapore) just let their guard down after the late 1-1 equaliser and paid a heavy price.
"Penalty row? Absolutely not from a referee trainer's view as there was an unwarranted aerial tug in the penalty box.
"Fixing? No evidence in this patriotic marquee match. Lucky? Maybe, but in life, everything hinges on luck but you have got to work your butt off before Lady Luck delivers.
"My longer-term worry: Singapore and Malaysia appear to have lost their 'hunger' while the rest of Asean have awoken from their slumber. If Malaysia can get over Vietnam over two legs, it will be short of another miracle. But after what the Tigers achieved at the Singapore Sports Hub, miracles can happen again.”

Now, this is an unbiased assessment and what the readers want to know.

Yes, I am Malaysian and I support my national team. But as a sports journalist, the fan in me stays out of sight.

I seriously hope Malaysia qualify for the final, but I will not be surprised if the Philippines won the Cup this time around.

As for Malaysia, what we have now is a stop-gap measure and probably a team good enough for a tournament. Try using the same players for another tournament and disaster awaits Malaysia. At the end of the day, we need long-term planning.

Let us not rejoice in wins over minnows in regional tournaments. Let us look at the big picture. Otherwise, we will have teams like the Philippines, Myanmar, Laos and maybe even Timor Leste making us a laughing stock soon.

Everyone has a role to play but let us play it professionally.

 TONY MARIADASS is a sports
journalist with more than three

decades of experience and is ­­­­­

passionate about local sports. He
can be reached at tmariadass@
gmail.com. Twitter handle: @

tmariadass

​

The rare and thoroughbred

COLUMN: ICON

Thethe rare and thoroughbred

By Tony Mariadass

tmariadass@gmail.com

Walter Vijay’s occupation makes him a unique and rare personality which is a dying breed in the Malaysian horse racing industry.

Walter who turns 67 on January, is a race commentator, who has been calling races for the last 29 years since 1985 and among the only two Malaysians in the business. The other is Allan Nordin who is based in Penang.

Veteran commentator, Christopher Lee, retired in January 2012 and Walter was appointed chief commentator for the Selangor Turf Club. He commentates with Nick Child, an Englishman, who will be leaving soon too.

Another foreign commentator in the racing scene is Australian Mark Lydemore who calls in Ipoh.

Career path

Walter choosing his career had a lot to do with his passion for horses since young, but he could have taken a different path had his father not prevented him from pursuing his studies overseas despite securing places in the universities.

“I was all geared up to head overseas to pursue my studies either in journalism or business management when my father, who worked in the Malayan Railways, said that he could not afford it, as I had two brothers and two sisters after me,” recalled Walter.

“My mother had retired as a teacher and my father was the sole breadwinner. My father told me to get a job.”

Vijay revealed that he was also a dramatist and musician.

“I also had a passion for drama and acted in two plays – the King and I and Showboat. After that I moved into music and was a vocalist in the local band called Venus. We had stints at hotels and performed at functions.”

But before that Vijay started looking for a job and met his classmate D.J. Dave from Tanjung Malim where he had done his Form Five, who was also looking for a job and told him that there were several job vacancies in the government sectorc and interviews were being conducted at the Labour office in Kuala Lumpur.

“We both went for the interview and those present for the interview were divided into three groups for jobs in three government departments – customs, immigration and postal.

“Both Dave and I were put in the postal group and we both got the job. I continued with my singing at night.”

Vijay said that his from his first pay of RM180, he gave his mother RM170 and kept RM10.

Break

It was in 1984 that Walter answered an advertisement for a race commentator.

He went for the interview in Singapore and was shortlisted to be among the final two.

“I had to earlier present a mock commentary which the interviewers were impressed. Then I was granted with a few others who were shortlisted to call in an amateur race.

“And let me tell you it I two different worlds doing a mock commentary and live. Many of the candidates were tongue-tied. I managed to call the race and was granted a six month probation as a trainee commentator.”

 During this time Walter received guidance from legendary Sydney race callers Ian Craig and John Tapp.

From amateur to pro

The rest was history.

Walter called his first race in Penang in 1985 under the assistance of Jimmy Chadwick and the race was won by Uni Tex.

Jimmy Chadwick's initial advice to Walter was “The only way you will make it as a commentator is if you are thrown into the fire”.

After his probation Walter was appointed trainee commentator for three years from 1985 to 1988.

In 1988 Walter was made full time commentator for the Malaysian circuit which saw him calling races at Ipoh, Penang, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore. Walter called in Singapore until racing was run simultaneously with Malaysia and even called the last meeting at the old Singapore track at Bukit Timah before Kranji opened where he was also called upon for relief work at the new track.

In 2002 Walter attended the Asian Racing Federation Study Program in Japan where he covered racing in Tokyo and Hokkaido and got a first-hand view of the breeding industry in Japan. During his time in Japan Walter was fortunate enough to see the great stallion Sunday Silence before he passed away.

Walter has even called races in New Zealand where he called barrier trials and witnessed Bone Crusher win the Air New Zealand Stakes in the late 1980’s.

Walter attended the Melbourne Cup carnival in 1998 to see Jezabeel win for Chris Munce and met Greg Miles the race caller at Flemington.

In 2000 Walter was a guest of the Del Mar Turf Club in San Diego California where he attended the opening day with an estimated crowd of 30,000 and met Trevor Denman the track announcer at Del Mar.

Last year he was at the Royal Ascot as an invited guest and met legendary race caller Jim McGrah.

Sweet journey

“It has been a long road, but I enjoyed every minute of it. I must say that what sacrifice I made for brothers and sisters when I forgo to continue my studies overseas, I have been blessed with I do today. I love my job,” said the father of two daughters and who is married to journalist Melanie Proctor.

“Every race is a different race. To call every race is a challenge No two race will have the same outcome.

“It is all about concentration, more importantly memorising colours of the ‘jockey silks’ (colours of the owners worn by the jockeys) and observing.”

Vijay said that one has to call a race within 72 seconds and maximum of two minutes and there is no room for error.

“A new newcomer will probably take a day to prepare for a race call.

“After years of experience, I will take about twenty minutes to prepare for the race.

“There are three parts to race which is the pre-race, the race itself and the post-race.

“With two of us in callers box, we take turns to call the race. The pre-race which includes predictions for the race involves both us before one of take over the post-race when the horses parade at the paddock before they go to the gates for the race before starters up is called.

“Each race day, among us we do anything between eight to ten races.”

It is full week’s job which includes going for track work in the early hours of the morning the days leading to the race, having to be in office after that to compile all the reports and prepare for race days.

Ups and downs

Talking to Vijay personally and listening to him commentate certainly makes his voice and tone totally different. If one had not seen Vijay personally and only heard his voice, one would not be faltered for making him out to be of a European decent.

On predictions on races, Vijay recalled where he called five wins on a race day.

His biggest blunder: “When I called the winner from the next day’s race. I immediately apoligised and made the correction. It happens, but rarely. We are human after all. But the irony was the winner I had called mistakenly on the first day, emerged winner the next day!”

Surprisingly, Walter’s most memorable day in his career had nothing to do with the horses or jockeys, but his live interview with Manchester United’s Sir Alex Ferguson during his visit in the early 2001 when he came to the Selangor Turf Club to watch a horse named MU. He was invited Tunku Shahabuddin Tunku Besar Burhanuddin.

“I was shell-shocked when called up to interview Sir Alex and did a 20 minute interview about horses and football. He was such a gentleman and made me feel so comfortable. I will never forget this day although I am Arsenal fan.

“I have met top jockey, trainers, went for top races around the world and horses is my world. I am indeed blessed.

‘Who’s gunna get it’

“But people like me are a dying breed and I intend to train a few to take up the job before I call it quits.

Walter is best known for his phrase “who’s gunna get it” which he uses often to describe a close finish.

Probably this phase is going to be used to who is going to take his hot seat when the time comes.

What a crying shame

UKRC march on

COMMENTARY   

Level Field  

(H)  What a crying shame

A football field that rightfully belongs to the Ulu Klang Recreation Club (UKRC) and the community has been taken over by the authorities and left to deteriorate for the last four months.

UKRC are lucky they still have their clubhouse, which they have managed since 1958, though they were served a seven-day notice dated March 4, 2014, by Ampang Jaya Municipal Council (MPAJ) to vacate it and remove all its fixtures. This came after the KL High Court ruled in favour of the council on the field on March 3.

The club have not lost hope yet as their judicial review application against the notice in the High Court on March 11 – to stop the council from taking over the clubhouse until a proper hearing is conducted – was allowed. MPAJ was issued a restraining order and the hearing has been set for Feb 12 next year.

The community club’s woes began way back in 2002 when plans were revealed to build a condominium on its land (see flashback of The Malay Mail story).

There were then countless attempts to grab the land – which UKRC had acquired on Aug 3, 1957 – from them but the club fought tooth and nail to hold on to it.

While waiting for the hearing, UKRC have decided that their activities will carry on.

After having put their annual UKRC 9s football tournament, which was inaugurated in 2001, on hold for two years, they are holding it this weekend – not on their grounds but in the neighbouring Drainage and Irrigation Department’s field.

A total of eight teams, including four from Indonesia, are competing in the two-day tournament.

It is sad that UKRC cannot use their own field because MPAJ closed it off in July, supposedly for repair work, and has not allowed any bookings.

However, there are no signs of any repair work and the field is in a deplorable state with uncut grass and dry patches appearing all over it – a far cry from the immaculate pitch under UKRC’s management.

Some MPAJ workers are seen in the field every day with garden lawn movers and hand-held grass cutters – probably that is why they have not managed to mow the whole field!

Either the council doesn’t have a clue how to manage the field or it is making sure the pitch is not in playing condition for reasons best known to it.

In the meantime, a good tournament that is backed by Astro and several other sponsors has been prevented from being held where it is supposed to – in front of the UKRC clubhouse.

If a corporate giant like Astro is prepared to sponsor a small club, surely UKRC is doing something right.

The club will be able to hold their regular fellowship night for the tournament at the clubhouse and the visiting and participating teams can see for themselves how a good field is rotting away.

The loss of the field also saw the 12-year-old UKRC football programme come to a halt last November. The programme catered for the community's children, from ages 7 to 16, and had about 130 participants every weekend.

It is indeed sad that when fields are vanishing in the city, another has been left to rot and denied to the public.

But above all, when sports development is difficult to come by these days, a good programme has been grounded and enthusiastic young footballers have lost the opportunity to hone their skills.

It is indeed baffling why the authorities fail to see a good thing for what it is and are going all out to destroy it.

Is there an ulterior motive for their action? Is development going to take over another green lung?

This is a club that has been in existence since independence, well managed with good programmes, a community centre and above all, a place where people, both young and old, could go for recreation.

It all started with a group of community members of Ulu Klang managing a piece of land and a mining pool. Over time, they turned it into a leafy retreat for families in the community.

Over the years, through funds obtained from the organisation of an annual football tournament and sponsorship, the club built a community hall that is fully air conditioned, is well fitted out, has a garden area for functions and boasts a basketball court and many other amenities, all through their own initiative. With each passing year, the members added to the facilities for the enjoyment of their members and community.

They maintained the field themselves, investing in a RM15,000 heavy machine grass-cutter and taking turns to mow.

Now, their dream field has been snatched away from them, but they are not throwing in the towel – not until they get back what rightfully belongs to the community.

 TONY MARIADASS is a sports
journalist with more than three

decades of experience and is ­­­­­

passionate about local sports. He
can be reached at tmariadass@
gmail.com. Twitter handle: @
tmariadass

Yes, Minister

COMMENTARY    

Level Field

 Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin is spot-on in launching the Talent Identification and Development (MyTID) System – a move to stop the declining standard of Malaysian sports.

Khairy was also responsible for the National Football Development Programme (NFDP) launched by the Prime Minister himself earlier this year.

One cannot go wrong by emphasising sports development because if implemented correctly and monitored well with the right people in charge, it guarantees not only results in the future but also the availability of a big pool of talent to choose from.

The only problem with development is that there are no immediate results. It requires tons of hard work, patience and time to bear fruit. It is also a thankless job.

Khairy has also done well by not only recognising the differences between the stakeholders of the programme, namely the National Sports Council (NSC), National Sports  Institute (NSI) and the Ministry of Education  (MoE), but asked them to work together to ensure the success of MyTID.

He sees, rightly, clubs as the backbone of sports development and has said that part of the 2015 budget for the latter will go towards spurring the involvement of clubs and strengthening their roles in the whole process.

MyTID is the biggest-ever grassroots development programme so far, launched with a RM34 million budget and an ambitious target to see some 100,000 pupils from 1,500 schools screened by the end of next year. This will be broadened to 500,000 pupils from 7,000 schools by 2019.

MyTID is probably the best thing to happen to Malaysian sports when it is declining at such an alarming rate, no thanks to the apathy of many national sports associations.

The plans all look good on paper, but the million-ringgit question is that whether they will survive the test of time and will they be properly managed?

There have been previous talent identification programmes and as confirmed by Khairy, there was a RM3 million allocation for them. He revealed that less than 1% of those identified by the previous programmes were absorbed into the back-up training programme.

So, what will be different this time around?

Yes, the good minister has said no more excuses this time around, especially as his reputation is at stake. But in Malaysian sports, we have short memory. We launch programmes in a big way, make strong recommendations whenever there is a debacle, come up with all sorts of suggestions and everyone has something to say. But when it comes to execution, we fail miserably.

Every time a new issue arises, old matters that were raised take a backseat and more often than not, are forgotten.

To recap, just last month there was a hue and cry about the Incheon Asian Games debacle and all sorts of recommendations came up. Prior to that, it was the Glasgow Commonwealth Games fiasco, which was the highlight of the month. Then along came the Lee Chong Wei saga and everything is now quiet on all the other fronts.

Next, all attention will probably shift to the Sea Games in Singapore in seven months and since it is just across the Causeway, everyone will want a piece of the action in the name of development, exposure, minimum cost factor and wanting to study how Singapore organises the Games as we are the next host.

The plan to be more careful in selecting the athletes, raise the qualifications for the Games, exercise prudence and all other matters discussed after the earlier two debacles will probably go out the window.

Will the same thing happen to MyTID after its novelty wears off?

Already, there are some grumblings about the NFDP, which is under the stewardship of former international Lim Teong Kim. The coaches are unhappy and there are questions about the selection process and whether the right people are handling the job, especially at grassroots level.

My biggest concern is, what will happen to MyTID and NFDP if Khairy is moved to a different ministry in a Cabinet reshuffle?

We have had so many programmes die prematurely once the minister who initiated them left office. Remember Talent Identification, Sports for All, Sports Culture and Sports Industry?

The next minister usually does not carry on his predecessor’s programmes because he wants to leave his own legacy behind.

Khairy has said the NFDP is a national agenda but he must make sure that it is gazetted and does not disappear after he leaves the ministry.

The civil servants in the ministry, NSC and NSI themselves are equally guilty as every time a new minister comes on board, they abandon the old programmes.

One wonders what happens to all the pre-approved budget – is it channelled into different and new programmes or is it written off?

A lot of money has been allocated for sports development this time around and let us hope that it is used wisely for the programmes initiated by Khairy.

Otherwise, it will be more public money down the drain and sports in the country remaining in the doldrums.

TONY MARIADASS is a sports
journalist with more than three

decades of experience and is ­­­­­

passionate about local sports. He
can be reached at tmariadass@
gmail.com. Twitter handle: @
tmariadass

Everyone at fault

COMMENTARY  

Level Field

(H) Everyone at fault

Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is guilty in the current doping episode involving Datuk Lee Chong Wei?

The chances are whoever stands in front of the mirror and asks the question will get the same reply: you are all guilty.

Yes, this includes the player himself, the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM), the National Sports Institute (NSI), the coaches, sponsors, the media and the fans themselves.

We have to get to the bottom of who administered the dexamethasone (a drug used to aid an athlete’s rehabilitation and which is permitted outside competition because it is not performance-enhancing) and when.

It is pointless looking for a scapegoat because everyone involved in Chong Wei’s preparations and recovery for competition should be held responsible.

Personally, I think the matter has been blown out of proportions and is just complicating matters.

Let’s be honest with ourselves.

Officials, coaches and associations always want their injured athletes back in competition as soon as possible. The athletes are seldom given enough time to recover through the normal process with treatment and physiotherapy.

Chong Wei, for one, has on countless occasions been required to be on the court for crucial competitions because he is our only hope for success and our back-up players are not good enough.

Now, whose fault is it that we don’t have a crop of top players but just one who is pressured to play without looking at the consequences?

Chong Wei too is to be blamed for agreeing to compete in almost every competition. Whether he had the option to skip some of the tournaments or was compelled to compete by BAM or the sponsors or he wanted the money is a question left to be answered.

The World Badminton Federation requires top ten ranked players to compete in tournaments and skipping tournaments will see them fined. But if a player is genuinely injured, he surely must be given the option to skip.

Probably, Chong Wei was under pressure to compete in the BWF World Championship in Copenhagen in August (he lost to China's Chen Long in the final), where the fiasco began after his urine sample tested positive.

He claims that he has undergone 124 doping tests over the last 15 years of playing badminton, all of which tested negative. So, he should have known better than to allow dexamethasone to be injected into him so close to or during a championship.

Maybe it was a rare case of the drug lingering in his body longer than the expected 36 to 54 hours.

Now, to call Chong Wei a cheat is indeed unfair because, for starters, dexamethasone is not a performance-enhancing drug. It is a form of medication that is widely used to aid in recovery from surgery and the fact that it is allowed to be administered by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) out of competition for rehabilitation certainly has to be taken into account.

WADA has listed out clearly all the procedures that need to be taken to handle such cases.

But almost everyone is talking about Chong Wei facing a two-year ban if found guilty.

The world-governing body imposed a provisional suspension on the player last week after his B sample also tested positive due to an adverse analytical finding.

The BWF has referred the matter to its doping hearing panel and in due course, the chair of the panel will set the time, date and location for a hearing.

The panel will determine whether or not the athlete violated an anti-doping regulation.

So, let us just wait for the hearing. With his unblemished image and the fact that the drug was an anti-inflammatory substance, Chong Wei could just be given a reduced sentence or even let off the hook with a severe warning.

Whatever happens, let’s give Chong Wei a chance to prove his innocence, or ignorance in this particular case, and see what the BWF hearing panel decides.

Chong Wei, in the meantime, should take this whole ugly episode in his stride as much as it is troubling and stressful. He should come out of this a stronger person and prove all his critics wrong.

If a reduced suspension is meted out, he should use the time to recharge himself and come back even stronger and try to complete some of his unfinished business, including winning the Olympic gold medal.

It will not be an impossible task for the player, who is known for his discipline, dedication and determination.

But if ever Chong Wei decides to call it quits, he would indeed be a disappointed man as he will bow out a tainted player after all the achievements he has under his belt.

But whatever decision he makes must be respected for he has given so much to this nation all these years.

Meantime, this episode should serve as a timely warning to not only badminton but all others sports – the national associations cannot depend on just one or two players and ‘abuse’ them. They have to seriously undertake development programmes for a constant flow of athletes to carry our flag.

Just look at China. In any sports, they have a pool of players who can become world champions any time.

So, let us all take the blame for what has happened to Chong Wei and not allow something like this to happen again.

TONY MARIADASS is a sports
journalist with more than three

decades of experience and is ­­­­­

passionate about local sports. He
can be reached at tmariadass@
gmail.com. Twitter handle: @
tmariadass