Alfred's blind love for music

By Tony Mariadass

tonym@mmail.com.my

Pictures by: Muzakkir Sazali

Music makes the world go around, but for blind singer and guitarist, Alfred Ho @ Hoo Ah Let, it gives him a shelter and food on the table.

It has been a struggle all his life for Alfred but he has never complained because he has lived to make the best out of adversity.

But for Alfred who turns 67 on July 9, his current situation where he has to bask to earn a living together with occasional stints at homes, functions and weddings, has left him a little disillusioned.

“I know I am old, but feel that we entertainers, especially who are physically challenged, could be given better recognition,” said Alfred who basks at the LRT station between Avenue K and KLCC.

“Thanks to the Malaysian Buskers Club (MYBC) and Avenue K who have a dedicated space for buskers, I get a slot each week for a two hour performance. I cannot depend on performances at events because there are few coming these days,” said Alfred who has his wife Ruffina Baptist for 22 years, assisting him in moving around and setting up his equipment.

Alfred is no stranger to the music industry and best known for his rendition of evergreen numbers from legendary crooners Elvis Presley, Cliff Richard, Tom Jones, Engelbert Humperdinck, Pat Boone and various other country and western performers.

Born sighted, he went blind after a bout of measles at the age of three.

Alfred who comes for a poor family of three brothers in Klian Intan, Betong, Perak, said poor health facilities in the village and his parents’ busy running schedule a small coffee shop, saw his measles make him blind.

“I cannot remember vision, but can remember colours. I suppose I was fated to be blind. But that has not made me have self-pity on myself or feel any less than any ordinary human being.”

Alfred showed a love for music from an early age at Penang's St Nicholas School for the Blind, he taught himself to play the guitar and formed a four-piece schoolboy band called The Sharks.

While his ambition was to become a singer, Alfred enrolled for vocational training when he was 15 at the Gurney Training Centre for the disabled, where he learnt to be a telephone operator.

Albert soon found a job with Penang City Council as a telephone operator, but his love for music saw him make his rounds in pubs around town.

He also wrote his own compositions, such as Train to Tennessee and Wendy's Love Song.

Then he decided to quit his day job and become a full-fledged singer to realise his dream to become an entertainer.

He wrote to Radio Rediffusion (popular radio station during the 70s) hoping to get an audition to play a few songs on the show and it was well known deejay Patrick Teoh who auditioned him.

He went on to do a few shows with them, before some who listened to him on air recommended him to compete in a talent show on television – RTM’s Bakat TV in 1971.

Alfred took the show by storm as at the only blind competitor and made it to the semifinals, rising to stardom and popularity.

That was a dream come true for Alfred and gave him the confidence to make music a career and landed his first contract with a hotel in Terengganu and went on to move to play in many other states in hotels and shopping complexes.

He finally decided to make Kuala Lumpur his base in the 80s where his popularity grew and his mellow but powerful saw his fan base build.

Alfred who also sings in Spanish, Malay, Cantonese, Mandarin, Hokkien, Japanese and Thai numbers, saw his diversity a listening pleasure to his audience.

He has such a wide repertoire that he has been known to play for four straight hours and still have some songs to spare.

It was not long before he was dubbed Malaysia's Jose Feliciano.

Alfred self-produced an album of 22 covers of his favourite hits called "Special Gems". He now has five albums consisting of the evergreens.

He also had shows with Time Highway radio and RTM where he was engaged for just six months for a show called “Family favourites”.

“But all the fame and popularity is just remembrance and history now,” lamented Alfred.

“Today, I literally have to beg for stints and getting turned away has become the norm. While I am disappointed, I am not bitter. Sometimes I cannot blame anyone because most of the entertainment managers at hotels or shopping complexes come from the younger generation. Many do not know me or even appreciate the kind of music I play. They rather engage younger entertainers,” said Alfred.

“Besides being blind does not help. People sometimes are not comfortable. It is no longer about appreciating a good singer.”

Albert said that he has faced with this situation all his life and was used to it.

“I just wished television and radio stations give us ‘oldies’ and physically challenged a platform to make ourselves relevant and perform the good old oldies.

“All my life I had faced with adversities and the current situation is nothing new. I have been marginalised, cheated, overlooked and even had no one coming forward to cut my album.

“But I will continue to strut along because of my love for music and it is what I do best.

“I have a dream though – to own a ‘Dream Café’ which will become a place for musicians to play evergreen music and for me to perform.

“I cannot do pub scenes these days because of health issues and also age. I need to slow down, but music is in my blood and my livelihood.”

Indeed a sad situation for Alfred who certainly warrants to be called an Icon in the music industry but as Alfred said: “As long as I can sing and am mobile, my music will be alive as I try to earn some money to fan for my wife and myself.”

For those who want to catch him in action, he will have a Hi-tea performance for Mother’s Day at Armada Hotel on May 8 from 12 noon to 4pm. Tickets available at the hotel are priced at RM75+, RM55+ (senior citizens) and RM37.50+ (children between four years old and 11 years old).

Also listen to Alfred’s songs at his blog: http://www.alfredhomusic.blogspot.com. He can be can be reached at alfredho.music@gmail.com or at 03-7984 8560 or 012-3461232.  

The impossible dream

 Commentary

They say it all begins with a dream. But for the Malaysian, now ranked NO 174 in Fifa's ranking - their worst ever - the World Cup looks an impossible dream.

It was clear at the 2018 Fifa World Cup Russia Asian qualifiers final round draw, held at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday, that the 12 teams who made it - Iran (placed 42 in the world), Australia (50), Korea Republic (56), Japan (57), Saudi Arabia (60), Uzbekistan (66), United Arab Emirates (68), China (81), Qatar (83), Iraq (105), Syria (110) and Southeast Asia’s only team, Thailand (119) - are miles ahead.

Malaysia are the 32nd best  team in Asia.

The battle is not over for the top 12 Asian qualifiers.

They have been drawn into two groups of six teams based on their seeding and will play at home and away with each other before the top two in each group qualifies for the World Cup.

The two third-placed teams in the respective groups then play in an Asian play-off on a home-and-away basis and the winner gets to play in the Inter-Continental play-off with a CONCACAF team over two legs for a possible extra Asian slot in the World Cup.

True, the 12 teams have a long journey ahead of them but then Malaysia were eliminated in the preliminary Round 2, whereas Saudi Arabia and the UAE qualified for the final round from Group A.

As the record shows, a total of 12 different nations have represented Asia at the World Cup since the tournament began in 1930.

It has been a steady improvement with Asia’s representatives going head to head with the world's finest opponents.

The involvement of Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia) in the 1938 World Cup was auspicious, mainly because of its status as the continent’s first-ever appearance in the competition. However, the Southeast Asians were eliminated in the first round by Hungary.

It took almost another two decades before the continent was represented again, with Korea Republic progressing to the finals in Switzerland in 1954.

But Asian football truly arrived twelve years later in England when DPR Korea qualified for the quarterfinals and gave a scare to legendary Eusebio and his Portuguese team-mates and a run for their money before bowing out.

Through the 70s and 80s, Asia’s presence at the World Cup was guaranteed, with the allocation of places increasing from one to two for 1986 as Korea Republic for the first time since 1958, to be joined by Iraq.

While Iraq are still chasing a follow-up appearance at the tournament, the Korean Republic has become a consistent qualifier since, including co-hosting the tournament with Japan in 2002.

But for all the Korea Republic’s consistency, it was debutants Saudi Arabia who in 1994 became the first team since DPR Korea to qualify for the knockout stages of 16 teams.

Eight years later marked the best for Asia when Korea Republic and Japan co-hosted, with both reaching the knockout phase for the first time.

Japan were eliminated in the second round by Turkey who reached the semifinals, where they were joined by Korea Republic team for the best-ever performance by an Asian team to date at the World Cup.

These performances by Japan and Korea was followed in 2010 by another outstanding showing , as both reached the knockout phase – but this time on foreign soil – only to eliminated by Paraguay and Uruguay respectively.

Despite the quartet of Japan, Korea Republic, Australia and Iran failing to hit the heights in Brazil at the 2014 World Cup, it is now hoped that in Russia the Asian teams will shine and fare better.

Yes, Korea and Japan feared Malaysia not too long ago, but they have gone to a different level leaving Malaysia to become minnows.

Even war-torn Syria have reached the final despite having to play all their second round home matches away.

Where does that leave Malaysia?

Continuing to come up with short team programmes and having false hopes that a miracle will happen to see Malaysia football bloom overnight.

Yes, there is said to be hope with the National Football Development Programme (NFDP) which will be the savior of Malaysian football in the future.

But against a backdrop of China FA having announced an ambitious football development plan that envisions 50 million players joining in the game by the end of the decade and the transformation of the country into a ‘ first-rate major footballing power’ by the middle of the century, Malaysia will probably still be licking its wounds.

Let’s not forget the rest of the top teams in the Asian qualifiers in the final rounds who are leap and bounds ahead of Malaysian football in performance, administration, professionalism, coaching staff, facilities and in almost every aspect of the game.

Probably, all Malaysia can take consolation is that the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) headquarters is at Bukit Jalil and the secretary-general is a Malaysian – that’s about the best Malaysia can be proud off.

AFC has had a Malaysian as general secretary since the days of Datuk Peter Velappan, Datuk Paul Mony Samuel, Datuk Alex Soosay and now Datuk Windsor Paul John who assumed his duties in December after being deputy general secretary from August 2013.

The 55-year old Windsor conducted the draw on Tuesday, and held court with finesse, confidence, professionalism and knowledge of the teams without any notes or tele-prompter.

And it was no surprise, for the former teacher, football coach, administration and management instructor, development, competition and technical officer, has had vast experience including his World Cup and Olympic stints.

The father of three – two girls and a boy – was the World Cup South Africa 2010 chief coordinator, World Cup general coordinator in 2002, 2006 and 2014,

Fifa Club World Cup General Coordinator (2006, 07, 08, 11), Fifa Confederations Cup (2009, 2013)

Fifa U17, U20 and Futsal World Cups (2000-2011) and Olympics (2004, 2008 and 2012).

Winsdor has also been credited to have implemented various infrastructure football projects in South East Asia, East Asia and West Asian countries under Fifa’s development programme. He has also created of long term development plans for Cambodia, Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam, Maldives and DPR Korea.

Under the Fifa development programme he was also responsible for assessment, planning and launch of grassroots projects for China, Thailand and Myanmar in 2009.

It is indeed a crying shame with a Malaysian with so much football knowledge and AFC at our doorsteps, Malaysian football has not benefited from it.

We will probably have to resign ourselves to continue dreaming that a miracle will happen to save Malaysian football.

TONY 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: @tmariadass​

                     

Giving back to the game

Commentary

Here is a comforting story for us who have been bogged down by uninspiring sporting performances. 

A group of hockey  – the 1992 Asia Junior Cup (AJC) and 1993 Junior World Cup (JWC) squad members calling themselves the Class of 90-93 - are giving back to the game.

The 20-odd players were picked in an open selection in December 1990 for the 1992 Asia Cup that was held at the Pandamaran Hockey Stadium. More than 500 aspirants attended the trials over three days.

Coaches C. Paramalingam, Malek Khiew and Khairuddin Zainal chose 50 and in 1991, after a first camp for the 50, 21 players were selected for a playing tour of Karachi. The 50 players were maintained for several camps before the final squad of 18 was named for the Asian Junior Cup (AJC) in Kuala Lumpur 1992.

Their record of emerging second in the AJC remained intact for 20 years before the Malaysian Juniors emerged champions of the tournament in Malacca in 2012.

They lost to Pakistan in the finals (3-1) after having defeated India by a solitary goal in the semi-finals. The squad thus qualified for the 1993 JWC in Barcelona in which they finished 10th.

Several of these players were overaged for the JWC, so another selection was held from which six players from the local league made the team.

Over the years, however, these players lost touch with each other until I. Vickneswaran managed to contact them and set up a chat group.

An initial group of ten met for tea in Brickfields in 2013 and the rest, as they say, is history.

“We didn't know each other when we went for the open trials in Pandamaran in 1990. But after three years of being together, we spent the best years of our lives as a family who looked out for each other. The comradeship was second to none,” said Maninderjit Singh.
After the 1992 AJC and 1993 JWC, many of the players graduated to the senior team and played in major events, such as the World Cup and Olympics. Some retired to pursue higher education and join the corporate world. Yet, many of them are still contributing to Malaysian hockey, as administrators, coaches and sponsor players, and now as a team, they conduct coaching clinics from time to time.

The Class of 90-93 also compete in the Singapore Sixes, emerging as champions in their maiden appearance in 2014 and losing out in the quarterfinals last year. This

year, they also competed in the Bangkok King’s Cup.

“Competing in these tournaments helps keep us in the game and fit, besides giving us the opportunity to meet again in a competition environment. It brings back old memories, only this time around, it is in a more relaxed atmosphere,” said Maninderjit. 

“But our main aim is to give back to the game, which helped shape our lives.

“It is easy to be a cog in the wheel but we lion-hearted players wanted to be different and make a difference by contributing to the game and always recognising and respecting those who played a key role in our lives.”

Besides Maninderjit, another member who is actively involved in keeping the group together is Eugene Lee. He is regarded as the ‘father figure’ of the group for his nuggets of wisdom, patience and assistance.

Among the activities initiated by the Class of 90-93 was honouring their coach Paramaligam on his 80th birthday two years ago and raising RM27,500 for the ailing former sports journalist Satwant Singh Dhaliwal last year and conducting a coaching clinic.

Last Saturday, the group gathered at the Kuala Lumpur Hockey Stadium to honour their team manager Tan Sri Nordin Hassan, team doctor Datuk Dr Ramlan Aziz and coaches Paramalingam, Malek and Khairuddin. Before that, the group played a friendly match with the UniKL development team, comprising both boys and girls, and conducting a coaching clinic after that.

Said Lee, “These gentlemen played a key role not only in making us better players but also in moulding us into responsible adults. We owe them for what we are today. They instilled in us a sense of camaraderie and humility and taught us how to resolve differences in adversity. Above all, they built our character."
“Sport is a great teacher and what we see today is testimony to that,” said Mirnawan Nawawi, a member of the Class of 90-93 who went on to play in three Olympics.
Indeed, the squad has made it in life too. Brian Jayhan Siva and Calvin Fernandez are doctors; Arul Selvaraj, Vikneswaran, M. Nadarajah and Lailin Abu Hassan are coaches; Mohammed Nasihin Nubli Ibrahim is a team manager; Mirnawan is a sports commentator; and Atul Kumar and Sivadass Naidu are businessman, to name but a few.

On Saturday, goalkeeper coach Nadarajah offered Kuala Lumpur Hockey Association president Johnson Fernandez his services as coach for young goalkeepers every Sunday for free.

If only more former sportsmen came forward with their services, sports in this country would be so much richer.

Instead, we have ex-international associations whose members are more interested in overseas trips, playing golf and being critical but will not lift a finger to help, especially the schools in their towns or districts.

What the Class of 90-93 are doing should be emulated by former sportsmen and women of the various sports. 

Indeed, this hockey group is blessed with big-hearted and sincere people who want to make a difference to the game however they can, and they should be commended.

To honour the members, I have listed their names below:

I. Vikneswaran, Dr Brian Jayhan Siva, M. Jayamaran, Lam Mun Fatt,Eugene Lee Cheng Wah, Chairil Anwar Abdul Aziz, Lailin Abu Hassan,Mohammed Nasihin Nubli Ibrahim, Sunil Prasad Eyamo, Mirnawan Nawawi, M. Narayanaviswa Mayavu, Atul Kumar Baganlal, Raymond Yap Chuan Hong, Mohammad Jaafar Selvarajah Mohd Veloo, Perry Khoo Eu Hock, Maninderjit Singh, Aphthar Singh, Zamzam Mohamed Ali,Dinakaran Baliedaa Krishnan, Azhari Amir Ali, Tarvinder Singh Chaal,Sivadas Naidu, Suhairi Saidi, Dr Calvin Ronnie Fernandez, Nasir Maidin,Khalil Lau Kok Chim, Simon C G Mathew, Arul Selvaraj Anthoni,M.Nadarajan, Vijayraj Kannaiah, Kunaraja Nagalingam, Edward Makender, Ong Toon Leong, Imran Saat, Meor Mahzian Musa, Azroy Majid Abu Bakar, Sukhdev Singh and Mohd Zalizan. 

Keep it up, guys!

TONY 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: @tmariadass​

Built like a champion

By Tony Mariadass

tonym@gmail.com

Esther’s inspirational quest of glory

Esther Vergeer’s journey to stardom is bound to inspire any budding sportsman and women.

It was no easy path for the 34-year professional athlete who claimed 42 singles and doubles wheelchair Grand Slams and seven Paralympic titles - made up of four singles and three doubles titles - throughout her career from 1999 until her retirement in February 2013.

Known as the Dutch grand dame of wheelchair tennis, Vergeer was born in Woerden, Netherlands, started playing tennis at the age of 12. She crowned her professional career on a winning streak of 695 singles and 444 doubles matches!

Vergeet was eight-years-old when she had three internal haemorrhages caused by a blood vessel defect which put her under the surgeon’s knife.

After the third operation she woke up without sensation in her lower legs and ended up in a wheelchair.

Wheelchair-bound, she was no way inclined to sports until she became paralysed.

“I was young and news that I am paralysed devastated me. But I need a way out to be living my life again and saw sports as an outlet,” said Esther when met at the ‘Power to inspire’ forum at the Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club last Sunday.

“Sitting in a wheelchair and looked for a sport which I could compete in and tennis and basketball was an option.”

After playing wheelchair tennis and wheelchair basketballs, Esther chose tennis and turned her dreams into action.

At 17, she was unofficial world champion - a title she went on to retain 13 times in a row.

She then went on to become one of the world’s greatest Paralympic athletes of all-time.

“There is a great deal I went through to achieve my dreams of being the best.

“To say I want to get motivated, is easy. But one has to ask oneself why you want to be the best. Are you prepared to give everything and make sacrifices to achieve your goal?

“I worked hard and to achieve the desired results that it came to a point was addicted to win. That was my motivation to stay on top.”

Esther said it was sport that has given her a new lease of life.

“I am what I today because of sports.

“Sports is a tool. It is not just about fame, money or easy life,” said Esther who win the Laureus Award for Sportsperson with a disability of the year in 2002 and 2008.

“I only got some funding after I got some results and was only given one paid tournament to play in. I had to use money from my winning for other tournaments, training and exposure.”

Esther said to be champion, it takes total dedication.

“There are no shortcuts. One has to be very detailed and everything one does. One must take control and chart ones destiny. Key to success is training, mentally be strong, physically in the best shape possible and setting goals at multiple levels.

“Dealing with circumstances and situation is utterly important. There is no blame game in sport. You have to take charge and handle each situation differently. There is no excuse for failure. You have to have solutions. One cannot blame the weather or match official for ones defeat. If you have failed it is only because of yourself.

“Pushing myself to the limits was one of the reasons for my success story. One has to be innovative. I am control freak and a perfectionist.

“I took lessons from many top athletes and tried my best to be like them.

“To be a champion, does not happen overnight and by chance.”

When Esther retired, she said it was a difficult decision.

“But it was a decision I had to make after examining myself. I asked myself if I am still motivated to do the same thing and remain in top. I found that the toll was taking me,” said Esther.

“It was a difficult decision. On one hand I was tired, on the other I was going to miss everything I was doing.

“But in the end I was satisfied with what I had achieved and wanted to spend more time with my family.

“But sports is in my blood and it was time for me to give back to the sports which has given me so much.”

After retirement she started the Esther Vergeer Foundation, Team ParaStars and took on countless ambassadorships.

She runs the Esther Vergeer Foundation which encourages children and youngsters with physical disabilities to participate in sports.

Esther launched her biography ‘Fierce & Vulnerable’ during the USTA Membership Appreciation Day, at the 2014 US Open in New York.

In the book Esther candidly shares her life story interspersed with quotes from people of her inner circle, sporting career and business associates. From her parents to Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic, from her elementary school teacher to her sponsor, from Johan Cruyff to her opponents in sport.

World number one tennis player Novak Djokovic said this about Esther: “The career of Esther tells me that everything is possible if you truly believe. And that great things can be accomplished if you visualise yourself achieving them and dream big.

“Esther’s career is one of the most remarkable and outstanding careers in the history of sport. Esther inspires not just people with a disability, but also people without. Her charisma motivates everyone she meets to be positive about themselves and about life in general. Esther is a great example of somebody who never gives up, regardless of her disability. I know she will transfer this fighting spirit and love to her foundation and to the philanthropic world.”

Esther’s career could not have been better summed up.

Lost love in house of lord

St John’s Cathedral atop Bukit Nanas has been a huge part of Malay Mail writer Tony Mariadass’ life and times

He took catechism classes at the Cathedral before being, an altarboy, choir member, a commentator and an active participant in church activities,

His fond memories were, however, tarnished during his participation in Good Friday services at the cathedral last week.

As bowed my way into the cathedral great memories came flooding back. Soon disappointment emerged as a young usher stopped me from heading to balcony of the cathedral. I was trying to make my way up there because it was packed below.
To my dismay, the usher said: "It is not open upstairs yet?"
Since when was the house of the lord closed?
Then another lady usher said there were already people upstairs there and I could go up.
Then as the service began, a notice on the big screen read: 'Not to read aloud’.
As the service drew to an end with the veneration of the cross, the queue was naturally long as only one big cross was used for the veneration at the foot of the altar. The congregation was advised to follow the instructions of the wardens.
Some sitting upstairs decided to skip the veneration of the cross as the service had been two hours long. As some walked down, another warden asked rudely: "Where are you going?"

Does one need permission to leave the church?
The warden may have been trying to avoid a rush for the veneration of the cross, but he could have been better mannered in executing his duties.
I told this warden of what I thought of his actions.
I left the church wondering if I had gone to the cathedral to attend a concert.
Will the church soon be selling tickets to attend mass!
I appreciate the ushers and wardens helping out in the hot sun from directing traffic, the congregation and making sure that everything is done orderly, but don’t turn the church into a circus or concert, please.
It is only going to drive people the faithful away from the church.

On Easter Sunday, I attended the 7.30am mass and again the church was packed.

Only this time, the door to the gallery upstairs – which at one time was the place for the choir – was closed and a warden stationed to refuse people entry.

I wondered if my posting of the Friday experience in the Malaysian Catholic Christians website had anything for the door to be locked.

The response I got from the posting was overwhelming. Some took to task the ushers and wardens, saying they acted like bouncers at a concert and ticked then off of being rude.

These ushers and wardens were accused of forgetting what "Hospitality Ministers" mean.

Midway through the Easter service, Malay Mail cameraman, Firdaus Latif entered the church to take pictures of the celebration.

I told him to get an aerial view of the ongoing services from the gallery. But another young usher refused him in.

Despite saying Firdaus – who was armed his camera and lenses – was a Malay Mail photographer, he did not relent.

When I stressed that Firdaus was a Muslim and a press photographer and that assistance should be given to him to carry out his job, he backed off. I tend to think the Muslim factor did it.

The last straw for me must have been when a notice on the big screen advising the congregation to take their valuables such as handbags and mobile phones with the when they walked up for communion.

Yes, I have heard of thefts in the church, but thefts inside the house of worships?

Shouldn’t the ushers and wardens be looking out for undesirable elements?

What is becoming of the place of worship?

In one church, the priest opened his Easter sermon by taking a dig at the government.

We don’t need politics in church. We go to church to seek solace, peace, harmony and blessings from above

It is imperative all of us keep the place of worship a holy, friendly and centre of love.

 

At crossroads of no return

Commentary

 At a crossroads

The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) are in a Catch-22 situation, and only if they get out of this bind quickly - with a wise decision - is there any hope for Malaysian football.

If FAM continue to make "popular" decisions to please their affiliates and council members, coming up with half-baked and short-term programmes to resurrect Malaysian football, we are going to face more embarrassment and sink further.

For starters, the issue of FAM's leadership has to be sorted out. Its president, the Tengku Mahkota of Pahang, Tengku Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah, has to state clearly whether he is staying on or sticking to his decision to quit.

Even his decision to quit is a puzzle as he has said that he will resign in stages.

Talk of his wish to quit the FAM's top post surfaced after Malaysia's disastrous 0-10 loss to United Arab Emirates in a 2018 World Cup/2019 Asia Cup qualifier in September last year.

Tengku Abdullah said he would hand over the reins gradually to his deputy, Afandi Hamzah, to ensure the nation's main football body functioned smoothly. 

In July last year, Tengku Abdullah had said that he would resign if Harimau Malaya failed to qualify for the 2019 Asian Cup. 

Then, there was speculation that Tengku Abdullah was eyeing the Asian Football Confederation president’s post held by Bahrain’s Shaikh Salman Ebrahim Al Khalifa. The latter was heavily tipped to take over the Fifa presidency in February this year.

But when Shaikh Salman lost to Swiss-Italian Gianni Infantino, the FAM executive committee met and wanted Tengku Abdullah to reconsider his decision to call it quits. This was duly conveyed to the Tengku Mahkota of Pahang by FAM secretary-general Hamidin Mohd Amin recently.

However, Tengku Abdullah has yet to take an official stance.

With Malaysia hosting the 67th Fifa Congress in May next year, at which event the host nation for the 2026 World Cup will be chosen, it is only appropriate that Tengku Abdullah, as the Fifa exco member, is FAM president.

This means he will have a bit of time to put things in order at the national body, once and for all. After that, if he still wants to quit, at least his conscience would be clear that he did his best to sort out Malaysian football. But if Tengku Abdullah decides to quit now, it would seem like he is dumping FAM when they are at their lowest ebb.

But most importantly, in staying on, Tengku Abdullah must quickly get rid of the hangers-on, the deadwood, those who are there for personal gains and, above all, those who do not have a clue about the game and professionalism.

If Tengku Abdullah is not prepared to do that, then he should not be the only one resigning. An extraordinary general meeting should be convened to call for the resignation of all current FAM members and a fresh election held to pick a new team with a new mandate.

The ball is indeed in Tengku Abdullah's court.

In the meantime, FAM should stop making hasty decisions in trying to find solutions for the ills of Malaysian football. There is no shortcut to rectify the rotten state of Malaysian football.

We need to start from scratch with a long-term programme that must be nurtured with dedication, discipline and patience.

Stop hoping for miracles and depending on 30-something players to perform magic. Our youth are the future of Malaysian football but we have to instill in them pride, passion and a hunger for success right from the start.

It is true that footballing nations ranked higher than us do not want to play against our national team, but that is no excuse to bring in lowly teams that are plagued with corruption and then face the embarrassment of not even being able to beat them.

But first, stop making excuses for drawn and lost matches. A loss is a loss. A team cannot have played well and lost!

Also, stop saying we do not have strikers. Address the problem, which is staring at us in the face – the invasion of foreign players.

It will take courage, sincerity and professionalism to turn things around in Malaysian football. Do we have the qualities? One certainly hopes so. But if we do not, then let us just resign ourselves to playing social and kampung football.

Enough is enough!

TONY 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: @tmariadass​​​