A former national athlete has urged Youth and Sports Minister Ahmad Faizal Azumu to intervene in the Selangor Athletics Association (SAA), which was deregistered by the sports commissioner amid a leadership crisis.
In an open letter to the minister, award-winning high jumper Lee Hup Wei said the crisis is the reason he was not selected to compete in the Southeast Asia Games (SEA Games) that will begin in Hanoi next week.
Lee (above) said as a senior athlete, he felt compelled to speak up on the matter on behalf of all athletes.
“In my 18 years as a track and field athlete, internal conflicts frequently occur within sports associations. Nevertheless, the situation today is critical…
“The Selangor Athletics Association is supposed to be a centre for developing athletic talent at the grassroots level. As a true son of Kajang, I too started out with the SAA.
“Unfortunately, in recent years, the SAA was used by certain parties purely for position and money. They do not care about the welfare of athletes, and would rather see the SAA die than lose power.
“I am truly disappointed by this situation. I love track and field sports. I want it to be protected from anything that could damage the future of track and field sports,” said Lee, who previously scored three SEA Games gold medals and one silver, as well as an Asian Championships gold medal.
He urged the minister to withdraw the deregistration of the SAA.
“I have no power; my power is just my voice. I ask those in power to defend athletes and coaches like us. That is my only request in return for my 18 years of contributions to the nation,” he said.
SAA embroiled in a leadership crisis
The SAA was deregistered last month, reportedly because it is no longer active and should no longer be registered to represent the sport in any state of Malaysia.
According to Bernama, the association was embroiled in a leadership crisis that saw it break into two camps, with each claiming to be the lawful representative of the association. One camp was also accused of misappropriating over RM100,000 from the accounts of the SAA.
Sports Commissioner Ibrahim Mohd Yusof had declared all SAA elections since the crisis broke out to be invalid, claiming that these were not done in an orderly manner and violated the association’s constitution.
In a report on April 23, Bernama quoted Ahmad Faizal saying he has asked the sports commissioner to review the SAA’s registration, and that the association’s problems are a common occurrence in many sports associations in the country.
“There have been many other problems like this, such as involving the Perak Football Association, for example, but I have instructed the sports commissioner to make decisions in accordance with the existing rules and regulations.
“As for the SAA, I have no problem meeting them, but it should be according to the priority and suitability on the part of the Youth and Sports Ministry,” Ahmad Faizal was quoted as saying. - Mkini
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