TMJ On Why He Ordered Johor Players Back From National Training But Allowed Two Others To Join Training In S'pore
Malaysian Digest
Pic: Facebook
The Crown Prince of Johor was recently in the news over his decision to withdraw his Johor Darul Takzim (JDT) II trio of Darren Lok, Irfan Fazail and Zaquan Adha from national training last week, claiming he was looking to make a statement to the governing body.
"I wanted to teach FAM a lesson to follow rules stated by FIFA. They wanted players to train for a longer duration to be better under the management of Ong Kim Swee." said HRH Brigadier General Tunku Ismail Ibni Sultan Ibrahim through the Southern Tigers' Facebook page.
"Even if players trained for four months in the national team, they will still continue to play with that similar style. That's the level of quality Ong Kim Swee has," the prince who is more popularly referred to as TMJ is quoted by ESPNFC over the issue.
Yesterday, the prince followed up his earlier statement with a posting on the Johor Southern Tigers Facebook page clarifying his actions with a cryptic message titled 'Snakes Don't Hiss Anymore'.
"First of all, I would like to take this opportunity to explain why JDT made such a decision as well as to voice my disappointment towards a few Malaysian sports media. Whenever there's anything negative regarding JDT, they will sensationalise the stories or issues for weeks on end.
"Now in regards to our JDT II players, I have ordered the players to come back because these young players are our club's assets. We pay their salaries, and we will do whatever it takes to safe guard our assets and keep our best interest at heart. They will be reporting today so I don't see what's the big deal," TMJ notes.
"My players will only report to the national team four days before the match as stated by Fifa's regulation. End of story," he told reporters earlier.
The prince went on to explain why some other JDT players were allowed to train with the Singaporean side instead.
"Regarding the Singaporean players, I allowed our two senior players to report early because they are our senior players and they will not be apart of our project for next year. I thank them for their dedication and professionalism.
"For Hariss Harun on the other hand, I had the opportunity to speak to the Singapore national coach and requested for Hariss to report on the 3rd Oct. Sundramoorthy in turn told me that it will not be a problem," TMJ added.
He went on to point out how international football governing bodies accord him more recognition compared to the official Malaysian governing body.
"It's sad to say that I have better relationships with the football governing bodies and clubs from around the world compared to those in my own country. I wonder why? I'll leave that to you to ponder on. So that's my statement."
Earlier in July, TMJ came to loggerheads with FAM when the JDT quartet of Safiq Rahim, Aidil Zafuan, Amirulhadi Zainal and S. Kunanlan abruptly announced their international retirements followed by the infamous pendrive incident when TMJ threatened to expose the problems with the national football governing body.
Clearly, the prince has not yet patched things up with FAM and intends to publicly express his stance that he won't be doing the national team any favours and concluded his posting by again referring to the problems regarding football governance in the country.
"Those people who only know how to hide behind their keyboards say that I think that I'm always right. They are wrong. I don't think. I know I'm right. There's a difference between knowing and thinking. I'm honest and direct. Sadly it's very hard for some people to get used to honesty and transparency. I don't blame you because some people are just surrounded by different types of leaders. The type that keeps quiet and take care of their own pockets and not the people's welfare."
Many readers replied with messages of support for the prince and shared their comments on the viral posting.
Bangsa Johor Seluruh Dunia: What TMJ doing is called FOOTBALL REVOLUTION. He's showing the World that a great Nation can be orginated from the game. Beautiful Game.
Ezzuan Nasir: TMJ & JDT di landasan yg betul maka memang jd seteru pada mereka yg iri hati. [TMJ and JDT is on the right track which makes the rest jealous]
Yusri Muhammad: Bear the consequences tunku..we belong to a country which is called 'zoo' with no other animals except monkeys..just keep throwing the bananas and we'll be alright
- mD
.jpg)
