I'm proud of Misbun Sidek, even if BAM isn't

 

The Misbun Sidek controversy erupted a week ago and I had actually wanted to pen a piece here, joining our “sacked” badminton coach in smashing the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM).

I thought it was just not right for BAM to treat their coach and Malaysia’s badminton icon in such a disrespectful manner, as alleged.

As Misbun (above) has related, he was called to attend a meeting with BAM officials and in the midst of it, he was asked to leave the room.

When he was called in again, he was told he was fired. Yes, just like that.

In Misbun’s own words again, he was not given a chance to explain himself and the national junior squad’s failure at the Badminton Asia Junior Championships in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, last month.

(Those who had viewed Donald Trump’s old reality TV show, ‘The Apprentice’, would know how some of the candidates were humiliated when Trump uttered his famous line, “You’re fired”, to those he was letting go. Well, Misbun was also slighted in such a manner and this has greatly upset him. At least, this was Misbun’s version of the story, in real life and not reality TV.)

Misbun’s press conference last Monday was a “show time”, with the former national single champion letting it all out. Those who know Misbun well said that they have never seen him so annoyed and upset in public. His younger brother, Jalani, was by his side when he met the media.

Support from the top

Well, I’m glad I have waited to hear BAM’s side of the story from its president, Norza Zakaria, first before penning this.

I have listened to Norza’s press conference online when he addressed the Misbun issue and in all fairness, I think that the BAM chief has acted like a real gentleman.

BAM president Norza Zakaria

Norza said that he has a “special” relationship with Misbun and that he has the highest regard for the badminton legend.

Norza, who became the BAM president in 2017, said that he has personally invited Misbun back to the BAM fold after he left in 2011. Misbun’s latest appointment was on a two-year contract to handle the junior single squad.

It was a deal agreed upon in Norza’s residence in the presence of Lee Chong Wei, one of Misbun’s more successful prodigies.

The BAM president also revealed that he volunteered to foot half of Misbun’s salary while the other half came from BAM. I thought that was a gracious undertaking on Norza’s part.

Reading through the stories linked to Misbun’s spat with BAM over the past two days, it appears that Norza has stood by Misbun’s side all along.

There was also a report that the BAM task force wanted to let Misbun go late last year after another dismal performance by the junior squad overseas but Norza allowed the coach to continue. Misbun was saved by the BAM president.

In this latest controversy, Misbun must have been very grateful to Norza for coming to his rescue again.

The BAM boss has overruled the task force’s decision to sack Misbun and offered the coach an opportunity to see out his contract which runs until the end of the year.

I hope that Misbun would accept the olive branch offered, out of respect for the BAM president if not anything else. It was also Misbun’s wish to end his two-year contract amicably.

Misbun Sidek and Lee Chong Wei (right)

To top it all off, Norza has also apologised to Misbun on BAM’s behalf, stating that the issue cropped up due to a miscommunication between both parties.

I think that suffices to satisfy Misbun and surely, all should end on a happy note henceforth.

It’s the ego

Let me now tackle the miscommunication part as stated by Norza.

At times, I wonder whether we, Malaysians, are able to talk to one another and settle disputes in a manner where both sides will emerge as the winner.

No, it seems we can’t. Why? Because of our ego and superiority complex, we have lost the spirit of give-and-take.

In my previous article here, I mentioned the case of caretaker Penang deputy chief minister P Ramasamy, who was slighted because he was not informed beforehand that he would be dropped as a candidate in the upcoming state election by DAP. He only read about it in the news.

There must have been a miscommunication somewhere. Or perhaps some politicians are such lousy communicators!

Are some of the BAM officials in the same boat?

Indeed, effective communication is crucial for the smooth functioning of any group and miscommunication can lead to misunderstandings and conflicts. I can see this clearly in the cases I’ve mentioned.

What is worrying is the presence of personal bias because these biases can lead to miscommunication or misinterpretation of intentions.

I don’t intend to speculate, but I have a feeling that Misbun is not that well-liked by some officials in the BAM. It is also possible that certain coaches have found favour with key BAM people while others have not.

Misbun is 63, not that young anymore, and I’ve noted that some officials may not find his training modules suitable and up-to-date for today’s fast-paced badminton.

But let us not forget that Misbun has proven himself in the past, coaching three of our badminton stars - namely Razif Sidek, Roslin Hashim, and Lee Chong Wei - to be the world’s No 1.

Another thing we should appreciate about Misbun is his desire to train our own Malaysian players rather than coach overseas as there have been offers too.

For his contributions to the nation, as a player, coach, and a loyal and patriotic Malaysian, I wish to state that I’m very proud of Misbun Sidek, even if BAM isn’t. - Mkini

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FRANCIS PAUL SIAH is a veteran Sarawak editor and heads the Movement for Change, Sarawak (MoCS). He can be reached at sirsiah@gmail.com.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of MMKtT.