Windsor...Azzuddin

I know Windsor John Paul (pix). Quite well, actually.

Our path first crossed in early 1990s, when I was just a rookie reporter and Windsor was coaching Selangor youth team. He then joined FA of Malaysia and helped the national body to be recognised as one of the best-run football association in the world.

Our friendship started then, and it remain strong until today.

And then he left, just few months before I joined FA of Malaysia in May 2001. First, to be the Executive Secretary of the Asean Football Federation. From there, he moved on to be the Development Officer for FIFA Goal Project. During that time, he established himself as one of FIFA top General Coordinators. Appointed as the General Coordinator for the final match between Italy and France at FIFA 2006 World Cup in Berlin was, undoubtedly, the icing on the cake for him.

Yesterday morning, Windsor called. He is resigning from Fifa Development Office, effective from this Wednesday, 30th September 2009. I was shocked, but considering the circumstances that he was in, I understood his decision.

He will forever deny it, but Windsor is a local sports celebrity. Proof? Few hours after our conversation - jaihomalaysia, malaysian sports and fair play news blogs - posted the news about his departure.

So what now, Windsor? Obviously, the first link will be with FA of Malaysia. With the FAM secretariat in chaotic state, Windsor is seen as the best candidate to put things back in order. This, however, should not be treated as my way of championing him for FAM.

On the same breath, I have few things to say about the current state of the FAM secretariat.

Datuk Azzuddin Ahmad might not like this, but as far as the truth goes, he has failed to perform his duties as a GOOD FAM General Secretary. I do believe that I have the right to say this because, in my own small way, I helped him to be there. Azzuddin knows this!

To err is human. It takes a great man to know when his time is up. Like the malay saying, 'jangan jadi seperti tikus membaiki labu.'

Its better to walk away when we still have some respectability left. Dont wait to walk away when its too late, when more unpleasant things are exposed. If FAM secretariat is not already a sunken ship, it is sinking now. Think about it.

Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri

Saya dan keluarga - Sophia Rosly, Izzah Hadirah dan Ahmad Hamizan - ingin mengambil kesempatan ini untuk mengucapkan Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri kepada semua rakan dan taulan yang menyambutnya.

Di kesempatan ini, saya menyusun sepuluh jari memohon maaf zahir dan batin di atas segala kesalahan. Jika ada tersalah kata, tersilap perbuatan dan tersinggung perasaan, saya dengan rendah diri memohon keampunan.

Kepada teman-teman pembaca blog saya sejak sekian lama, terima kasih diucapkan. Memandulah dengan penuh hati-hati, kepada yang pulang ke kampung. Bergembiralah bersama keluarga.

'SELAMAT HARI RAYA AIDIL FITRI, MAAF ZAHIR DAN BATIN'

Thank you

The buka puasa gatherings organized by Sportswriters Association of Malaysia (SAM) and Youth and Sports Ministry (KBS) on Monday, 14th September 2009, was a huge success.

More than 100 people attended the event, marking the first time that sportswriters from all media organizations converged for SAM after quite some time.

From the bottom of my heart, I would like to express my sincere 'thank you’ to all friends from the sports writing fraternity for your presence. This is a good indication for SAM. It also proves that SAM is still very much relevant for all of us!

I do hope all of you will continue to support SAM events in the future.

Special thanks also to Youth and Sports Minister, Yang Berhormat Dato Ahmad Shabery Cheek, for his presence and generous gestures to SAM. The RM100,000 annual contributions from Ministry will be used wisely, primarily to recognize fellow sportswriters who excel in their jobs.

Willingness shown by the Ministry to sponsor two SAM members, each year, to pursue professional short courses is something that caught me by surprise. I am deeply touched.

It was a huge success. Thank you.

* For more photos from the buka puasa event, please visit SAM Blog, here.

FAM Treasurer resigned?

I just heard that FA of Malaysia Treasurer, Datuk Cheong Keap Tai, has resigned from his post, effective immediately.

As of now, I am still searching for confirmation, because it seems that everyone in FAM have been told to keep their mouth shut.

General Secretary, Datuk Azzuddin Ahmad, was apparently very angry, but I have no independent sources to verify this bit of rumours, too.

If all this is true, I fear for FAM. Because Datuk Cheong - formerly with PriceWaterhouse Coopers auditing firm - is one excellent manager of financial matters in FAM. Thanks to him, FAM still have plenty of money in the fixed deposit.

When he took over the financial mantle in early 2000, Datuk Cheong has been responsible in recovering several million ringgits which was lost due to bad investment strategies by the previous treasurers.

I know this for a fact, because at that time, I was privileged to observe this first hand when I was still in the employment of FAM.

There are many rumours behind this sudden decision to resign, mostly because of ‘chaotic and problematic relationship’ with FAM Secretariat headed by Azzuddin.

Again, I need help to verify this. Please.

Young gamblers?

Finally, it took Hendrawan (pix) to say what has been an 'open secret' in the national badminton team.

"Our players are only thinking of competing in tournaments without having to put much effort into the preparation. And if they lose, the defeat does not affect them greatly. This mind-set has to change."

This scenario is actually something that has been allowed 'to prosper' for quite some time.

I am not pointing fingers at BA of Malaysia, but the governing body also cannot be totally absolved from the blame.

This 'tidak apa attitude' is, sadly, very evident amongst the back-up players. While Lee Chong Wei and the top shuttlers are giving their best in training and competitions, the same cannot be said about several youngsters who are merely fond of travelling to various tournaments, but couldn't care less about their performance on court.

I also heard whispers from local badminton fraternity that there were several backup players who spent more of their time in casinos in Macau after defeats in early rounds than spending time to analyse reasons behind their disappointment. True?

Angkara taksub mengejar gemilang

Berita mengenai pelumba basikal negara, Mohd Fauzan Ahmad Lutfi, yang didapati positif kerana menggunakan dadah terlarang, anabolic steroid, memang mengejutkan. Baca berita di sini.

Ketegasan Persekutuan Kebangsaan Berbasikal Malaysia (MNCF) untuk meminggirkannya menerusi penggantungan dua tahun, memang dipuji. Sukan berbasikal negara sudah mencecah tahap dunia secara merit, sudah tentu tiada ruang untuk penipuan sebegitu yang mampu mencemarkan imej dan maruah negara.

Episod ini harus jadi pengajaran kepada semua atlit negara, betapa usaha dan kegigihan adalah tunjangnya, bukan cuba mencari jalan pintas menerusi bantuan 'negatif' sebegini. Ingatlah!

Disposable assets?

When we refer to 'assets' in an organisation, it's not only the physical ones like office building, furnitures etc. In fact, employees are commonly identified as the most valuable assets any organisation can have.

When 'valuable' employee decided to quit, it should normally set alarm bell ringing. Either something is wrong with him/her, or something is not right with the present working environment, right?

If that's the case, how about when few good ones quit? A few holding senior positions? In a period of less than a year? Common sense will tell us that something MUST be seriously wrong with someone at the top in this particular national sports association.

To top it off, I heard that several complaints have been lodged with the industrial employees department. The latest was by an experience clerk who was demoted to become a receptionist.

I heard latest romours that an 'ex-uniformed body' guy, who has wide experience in the 'Area A,' will be drafted in - not to help strengthen the 'Area A' department - but to be the new officer for 'Area Z'. This last one is just a rumour, I have no confirmation whatsoever. But if that's the truth, this will be the best example of 'cronyism at play.'

Whatever it is, I wonder what the top brass are doing. They just close one eye and pretend they don't know anything or they honestly don't know because they never pay any attention to whats been going on.

Or maybe, no one really cares? Scary, man!