KUALA TERENGGANU: Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin has told the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) to buck up or he will suspend it.
He said he did not want to take such drastic action but FAM kept failing, the lowest point being the national team’s 10-0 thrashing in a World Cup qualifying match.
There must be a complete overhaul of FAM and the president must take action against “those around him in the association”, he said.
“After the dismal and shameful performance by the national team, I have almost reached the conclusion that those in the FAM are not fit to be there,” he said.
He wants the president to act on the matter, and said that if one had been given such a long time but repeatedly failed to change, then something must be done.
Responding to Khairy, FAM secretary-general Datuk Hamidin Mohd Amin said to ban or penalise the national association for the failure of the national team was “not the best solution”.
“It is my opinion that there are other ways to address this issue,” he told The Star’sERIC SAMUEL.
“We admit that the performance of the national team is not up to the mark.
“But to ban the parent body is not the best solution and will not solve anything,” said Hamidin.
Khairy said that under the Sports Development Act 1997, the minister is empowered to take drastic steps, including suspension.
“I don’t want to resort to such drastic action because FAM would also be suspended from the international arena, which would lead to the national team not being able to play internationally.
“But if FAM continues to show that it has no vision or proper plans, and keeps on pretending like nothing has happened, coming up with recycled lame excuses, then I am left with no choice,” he said.
He added that suspension would also mean that the national team would not be able to compete in the 2017 SEA Games hosted by Malaysia.
The minister described Thursday’s 10-0 thrashing by the United Arab Emirates team as the worst blight on the nation’s football history.
The result forced national coach Dollah Salleh to quit, taking full responsibility for the defeat.
Khairy said the coach was right to resign.
“He was left with no other option after that shameful performance. It is the right decision,” he said.
He thanked Dollah for his contribution as national coach but said it must also be acknowledged that the problems at FAM did not end with the resignation.
Khairy intends to meet with FAM officials soon for a detailed report on what happened “before I inform them of the options I have as minister”.
On the Crown Prince of Johor’s suggestion to hire a foreign coach, Khairy said: “The Crown Prince says Malaysia needs a foreign coach but he also says the national team is the sort of players the country has.
“So for me, if you bring in a foreign F1 driver to drive an old car, the performance might improve a bit but the car doesn’t change into a Ferrari.”
He urged state football associations (FAs) and clubs to concentrate on developing young talent instead of solely focusing on the Malaysian League.
He also said they should not overpay players, especially if these expensive players failed to perform.
“There isn’t any development programme to build and grow young talent by state FAs; it is a lie if they say they are doing it,” he said.
He said the FAs did not have any such programme yet, only at some sports schools, while there is the National Football Development Programme.
Khairy was speaking to reporters after launching the FitMalaysia programme in Terengganu yesterday. The project is to encourage Malaysians to adopt healthy lifestyles.
Earlier, he announced that an open velodrome and sports complex would be built soon in Dungun and Hulu Terengganu.
Khairy tweeted later that the salaries of the football players have “increased dramatically last few years” but performance hasn’t.
He said they were always chasing Malaysia League victories but were still just “jaguh kampung (village champions)”.
PETALING JAYA: For many Malaysians, it is a nightmare they want to forget. But at the same time, the 10-0 annihilation of the national team by the United Arab Emirates in the 2018 World Cup qualifier has riled up the nation.
Among the angry was Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin who told the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) president to act on the shameful performance of the national team and to take action against those “around him in the association”.
A number of netizens shared the minister’s sentiments on the matter yesterday.
On Facebook, Bashir Ahmad urged FAM leaders and its management to take full responsibility over the defeat and resign like national coach Dollah Salleh.
“New professionals must be chosen to lead FAM. A foreign coach must be engaged and the local players must be committed, too.
“High-ranking government officers and royalty should not be elected because they may be sensitive to criticisms and too negative for them to swallow.
“National pride and loyalty must be the basic ingredients for players and officials,” he said.
Logeswaran Dharmarajasingam said FAM and the National Sports Council should think of measures that could galvanise the national players and also look at their pay structure.
“Our national players are well paid but their performance do not match their wages. Many players are out there in Malaysia but FAM is still using the same players. Why?” he asked.
Shamsul Rizal was even more blunt when he said that if the FAM president and his staff do not resign, the ministry should suspend FAM.
“Missing out for five years does not hurt. It is more hurtful when we have to watch a circus game and look at the embarrassing score after that.”
Terry Gallyot urged the future coach to pick “real players”, those who play for glory, not fame and fortune.
“Look back towards the days of Mokhtar Dahari, Soh Chin Aun, R. Arumugam and Santokh Singh. They never had anything yet they played with all their heart!”
Roy Gregory wants FAM to come out with new measures and learn from European football associations.
“Follow what European FAs are doing by electing ex-footballers and experts to run their organisation,” he said.
Richard Chew Kee Ching urged FAM to appoint a “world-class national coach” to help Malaysia do well in high intensity matches like the World Cup qualifiers.
“The dream to qualify for the 2018 World Cup is gone. We should get a foreign coach to improve the team. Give him three years without any interference,” he said
