Norza leaves BAM on a high

 

From Ashraf Abdullah

Norza Zakaria stepped away from the helm of the Badminton Association of Malaysia on Aug 24 last year, ending a presidency that didn’t just bring medals, but overhauled how Malaysian badminton is run from top to bottom.

And now, BAM is looking to a politician to keep it all going.

Investment, trade, and industry minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz has been nominated by BAM’s council to take over. The appointment isn’t official yet, but if he is accepted, he’ll inherit a sporting body in far better shape than it was when Norza took over in 2017. That’s the good news.

The bad news? Expectations have never been higher – and Malaysian fans are not known for their patience when it comes to badminton.

How Norza changed the game

When Norza first stepped into the role of acting president in 2016, Malaysia was coming off a high at the Rio Olympics: three silver medals, including Lee Chong Wei’s epic run to his third Olympic final. It would’ve been easy to coast off that momentum, but Norza had other ideas.

From the moment he took control in 2017, it was clear he wasn’t interested in business as usual. He introduced EPF and Social Security Organisation benefits for national players – a move unheard of at the time. He didn’t just talk about treating athletes as professionals; he backed it up with his own policies.

Then came the relocation to the Akademi Badminton Malaysia (ABM), a high-performance hub with 18 courts, top-tier rehab and gym facilities, and living quarters which house 120 players, half of whom are under 18.

More than just a building, it became the nerve centre of Malaysian badminton. Even the academic model changed – moving away from Bukit Jalil Sports School’s rigid approach to a private International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE) setup that let players balance books and badminton. IGCSE is recognised in the United Kingdom as being equivalent to its own General Certificate of Secondary Education.

It was holistic, it was ambitious and it worked.

From development to dominance

Norza also scrapped the age-based athlete pipeline. Instead of grouping players by age brackets, he shifted the system to a performance-first approach. Selection was based on world rankings, not birthdays. His message was clear: earn your spot.

That shift opened the door for hungry young talents and raised the stakes across the board. BAM also started supporting both national and independent players – recognising that talent outside the system deserved just as much attention.

And then the results came.

In 2022, Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik delivered what no Malaysian pair had ever done before: a world championship title. Pearly Tan and Thinaah Muralitharan became the first women’s doubles pair to win the French Open. Lee Zii Jia, a product of ABM, rose to become one of the most exciting names in men’s singles globally.

Across Norza’s tenure, Malaysia racked up 36 BWF titles. That’s not pure luck – it’s a system that works.

Behind the scenes, he made BAM sustainable

It wasn’t just about performance on court. Norza made sure BAM could pay the bills.

He secured landmark sponsorships, including massive deals with Petronas and Yonex worth RM55 million. Those weren’t just lifelines; they were signals to the world that BAM was a serious, well-run organisation. In a time when even major sporting bodies were struggling to stay afloat – Malaysian football is a good example – BAM was signing record deals.

He also strengthened the grassroots with an accreditation system for local clubs, based on European models. It gave clubs the recognition they deserved and helped build a more coherent pathway for young players across Malaysia – from state to national level.

Future-proofing the system

Even after he had expressed his desire to step down as president and his time with BAM was winding down, Norza wasn’t interested in just handing over the keys. He wanted to leave something behind that would last.

Late last year, BAM announced a strategic collaboration with PemanduAssociates. The goal? To build a roadmap to transform BAM into one of the world’s top three badminton nations by the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

It’s not just a vision statement. Pemandu is running a deep, 360-degree diagnostic of BAM – from how it manages athletes to how it handles money and governance. The entire operation is under review.

Norza summed it up perfectly at the launch of the project: “The world of badminton is ever-changing… If we do not embrace this change and proactively pursue transformation, we risk falling behind.”

He added something that feels especially pointed now, with the transition underway: “No one is bigger than the institution.”

Enter Tengku Zafrul – and a warning

Now the ball’s in Tengku Zafrul’s court. The BAM council has nominated him to take over as president for the 2025–2029 term. He has accepted the nomination, and barring any surprises, he’s expected to assume the role soon.

This is a very different job than what he’s used to. Yes, he has management experience. Yes, he’s overseen national budgets. But BAM isn’t a ministry. It’s a sports body under the microscope of an entire nation.

If medals stop coming, if the system breaks down, if fans sense that BAM is slipping – people will notice. And they’ll know who is in charge.

Malaysia is a country where sports unites the people more than politicians ever can. If Zafrul fails to maintain what Norza built, it won’t just hurt BAM. It’ll hit him where it matters most: his political credibility.

The stakes are real

This isn’t a reinvention job. The system works. The money is flowing. The players are winning. What’s needed now is stability, continuity and a commitment to the blueprint Norza left behind.

Zafrul doesn’t need to be a badminton expert. He doesn’t need to be the face of every press conference or medal ceremony. But he does need to protect the system, back the athletes and stay out of the way of people who know what they’re doing.

If he tries to politicise BAM, use it as a branding tool for his own politics, or fix what isn’t broken, it won’t end well.

Malaysians have long memories when it comes to badminton. And they’re not shy about letting politicians know when they’ve messed with the wrong sport. Badminton is almost a national identity.

And failure at BAM isn’t just a missed shuttle – it will be Zafrul’s own goal. - FMT

Ashraf Abdullah is a former group managing editor of Media Prima TV Networks.

The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of MMKtT.