KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 21 – Expect some shocks when the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) and the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) – two of the giant sports bodies in the country hold their press conferences on Friday (Jan 21).
The FAM and the BAM are in the limelight for various reasons. The national football team (Harimau Malaya) flopped at the recent AFF Suzuki Cup championships in Singapore and failed to reach the semi-finals.
As for badminton, reigning All-England and SEA Games champion Lee Zii Jia dropped a bombshell when he quit BAM to become a professional.
Although pressure, as the national No 1, has been cited as his main reason there is no denying that there are other reasons that led to the shock move.
What happens at BAM’s press conference at 4pm on Friday is left to be seen as BAM president has picked his deputy Datuk Seri Jahaberdeen Yunoos to handle Zii Jia’s case after getting the mandate from the council members.
National football head coach Tan Cheng Hoe turned “gentleman” and took the blame for Malaysia’s failure in the AFF Suzuki Cup.
On Thursday, FAM president Datuk Hamidin Mohd Amin met Cheng Hoe’s coaching team – S. Balachandran (his assistant), Azmin Azram Aziz (goalkeepers coach) and Martin Stano (fitness coach).
You maybe expecting some “tidying up” in the two associations after the shocks but be prepared for more shocks as there will be massive cover-ups.
Scapegoats have been found and the real culprits plus the “hidden hands” with clout will continue to enjoy the perks in their respective positions.
It has become a culture in Malaysian sports – it does not pay for the sacrifices one makes in bringing glory to the nation. It has been proven many times and will continue to go this way because it is “new” Malaysia.
So let’s wait and see Jan 21 – could be ‘Bangsat Day’ for some but you must also be prepared for more dirty linen to be washed in public. Some have taken to social media to be blunt and have openly named the culprits.
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