FA President - A Coward?

I'm really not surprised to read that the Sultan of Pahang wanted to stay put as the President of Football Association of Malaysia despite the resignations of the Deputy President (helmed by his son), General Secretary (Ibrahim Saad, a politician too) and a Council Member (Khairy Jamaluddin - son-in-law of Malaysia's Prime Minister and a Deputy Youth Head of the ruling party).

From the abovenamed persons, they are either royalty members or politicians. Please replace them with professional managers or former great footballers.

The Sultan of Pahang even said this as reported in the Sun newspaper when he was asked why he decided to stay put in which the Sultan replied: "I'm not a coward. I'm not going to bow to public outcry."

Who said that you were a COWARD if you were to resign. Can you see the type of mentality that such royalty members or politicians will have if they continue to hold such high positions in sports association. They considered that it's a total humiliation if you resign, admitting that you were the party to be blamed and their ego is too high to accept such resignation as a way out. He had been holding that President post for the last 23 years......can you believe that? And yet, still wants to hold on to it. That was almost the same time we, Malaysia, last qualified for any major football competition.

Colleagues reading the newspaper statement by the Sultan of Pahang really laughed out. Most were frustrated with the display by the national football team. And the Sultan of Pahang, aged 77 now, could be going a bit senile with the public outcry/pressure. He even called for an "overhaul" of the association and conduct an inquiry into the national team's performance.

What inquiry? Everyone knew about the problems except him. Please stop the play acting and just quit will you! There's nothing to inquire about when the players selected were already the best as chosen from the local league. The issue is not the players.

For once, I will stand by a gahmen minister and that's the Sports Minister, Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said. She quoted the following:-

* The state FAs must look at themselves in the mirror because the FAM can set the policies but if not carried out or implemented by the states, then they are also to be blamed.

* Some state FA heads or officials have been holding on to their posts for too long without any significant contribution towards the development of football in the country and they should make way for new energetic young professionals.

First, overhaul the football association by resigning en bloc especially the royalty members and politicians if you guys really care for the national football team. It makes no difference whether there is a management team or not for the next few months. My 2 cents!
Tags: Sports, Football, Soccer, Malaysia, Sultan of Pahang, Football Association of Malaysia, FAM, Azalina Othman Said, Sports Minister, Ibrahim Saad, Khairy Jamaluddin