Shaharudin Jaffar was a cycling warrior who refused to give up.
In the 1960s, the cycling track became a canvas, and Shaharudin, the artist, painted bright emotions with every pedal of the bicycle.
The dark moments came in 1970 when the Malaysian National Cycling Federation (MNCF) was blighted in shame.
When others walked away from MNCF, Shaharudin, then a national cyclist, stepped in.
He took over the federation with just RM44.60 in its coffers. Many thought he was crazy.
But he went on to rebuild MNCF and develop exciting talents, showing daring the likes of which most of us could only dream.
“Money alone is not the defining factor for success,” Shaharudin told FMT on his 84th birthday last October.
The man whose relentless dedication and sacrifices cemented his legacy as the “godfather” of Malaysian cycling died yesterday.
Shaharudin collapsed during dialysis and died at Hospital Shah Alam at 2pm. He was laid to rest this morning.
The story of Shaharudin is one of battles fought both on and off the field.
For years, he battled diabetes and kidney malfunction, requiring dialysis three times a week, three hours a day.
He suffered three heart attacks, one of which required him to undergo a bypass surgery.
Despite his failing hearing and eyesight, he kept himself fit by growing fruits and vegetables, as a hobby, on a vacant land near his Section 8 home in Shah Alam.
He did that with his three friends, and proudly shared about the times when they reaped 90kg of fruits, which they would distribute to neighbours.
The father of three sons and 11 grandchildren was happiest when friends visited with him or just had a phone conversation with him.
In the centre of that was the gracious hospitality of his wife, Hasmah Ibrahim, who, sadly, has her own battle with stage four cancer.
Shaharudin and his wife watched Azizulhasni Awang and Josiah Ng complete a one-two finish in the men’s keirin at the Asian Games in Guangzhou, China, in 2010.
They were happy that they had fulfilled their wish in seeing Malaysia ending the 40-year gold medal drought in cycling at the Asiad.
They made plans to attend the London Olympics two years later, but misery struck.
A month after they had returned from China, Hasmah was diagnosed with lymphoma (a type of blood cancer that affects the immune system).
A distraught Shaharudin often spoke of Hasmah’s resolute commitment to his pursuits, something that made her an embodiment of cycling itself.
It’s almost impossible to absorb all this without welling up.
Yet, in the darkest of times, it’s a reminder about the fragility of life, and the values that good people can produce when the going gets tough.
How Shaharudin rebuilt Malaysian cycling
In January 1970, MNCF was crippled by carelessness.
The crisis came after the MNCF made the wrong purchase of bicycle tyres for races on the cinder track at the Southeast Asia Peninsular (SEAP, now SEA) Games in Rangoon (Myanmar), in December 1969.
The blunder resulted in the Malaysians competing with borrowed bicycles. They came home without any medal.
The disastrous outing forced the Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) to drop cycling from the biennial regional games scheduled to be held in Kuala Lumpur the following year.
Then, it emerged that MNCF was broke, with a paltry bank balance of RM44.60.
At an extraordinary general meeting, the president, the late V Manickavasagam, an MIC leader, and his executive committee resigned en bloc.
Malaysian cycling’s bleakest of times would see Shaharudin, change the fate of the sport.
A new committee without a president was formed in 1970, with Shaharudin appointed secretary. He held the post until 1983.
It was the first time that an active sportsman had simultaneously managed a national sports body.
Until the then Selangor menteri besar Harun Idris became the president two years later, Shaharudin remained the main caretaker of Malaysian cycling.
Shaharudin persuaded Harun to become the president at the Munich Olympics in 1972.
He was in Munich as the cycling coach and team manager while Harun was the chef-de-mission and team manager of the football team.
“I didn’t bring him in because we needed money. No, instead I brought him in because I needed a leader,” Shaharudin told FMT.
On their watch, cyclists were transformed from also-rans to Asian champions. Talents bloomed, sponsorship grew and competitions were aplenty.
Both men developed a close friendship, and when Harun lost the benefits of the menteri besar after he was charged with corruption, Shaharudin volunteered to become his driver.
Boxing coach, Karim Yahya, and silat gayong exponent, Azhar Ariffin, also remained loyal to Harun, acting as his bodyguards.
Respect regained for Malaysian cycling
Within months of Shaharudin running MNCF, Malaysian cycling regained respect.
In August 1970, Malaysia secured the overall team title and the individual crown through Ng Joo Ngan in the Tour of Java race for the Suharto Cup.
The victories were followed through in December that year, at the Asian Games in Bangkok, where Daud Ibrahim and Joo Ngan won a gold medal each.
Joo Ngan was named Malaysia’s sportsman of the year in 1970 and Daud received the same honour the following year.
Their achievements convinced the OCM to reinstate cycling in the 1971 SEAP Games, where Daud was a three-gold hero.
For Shaharudin, it was an enriching and satisfying time in his life.
Further, it was gratifying that the cyclists, coaches and officials in his era showed passion, loyalty and undying love for the sport.
A wife’s unswerving support
Shaharudin, a former sports officer with the youth and sports ministry, always shared his successes with his wife of 57 years.
Hasmah pawned her jewellery to pay part of the airfare for the nine Malaysian cyclists to the Suharto Cup, and for their food in Java, because MNCF did not have money.
At times, the couple had up to a dozen riders in their house before competitions, with Hasmah cooking their meals and being the mother to the young men.
Hasmah also personally sewed jerseys of teams that lacked funds for proper gear.
While income from Hasmah’s catering business helped wheel his cycling dreams, Shaharudin used a portion of his salary to support his young cyclists.
A trailblazing sportsman and administrator
Born in Sitiawan, Perak, Shaharuddin rode to Malaysia’s first cycling gold medal at the SEAP Games.
He won the 800m sprint in 1965 in Kuala Lumpur without a coach nor the benefit of training full-time.
A year earlier, he was a reserve cyclist for the Tokyo Olympics, itching to display the international experience he had gained at the Commonwealth Games in Perth, Australia, in 1962.
Shaharudin missed the Mexico Olympics in 1968 due to injuries suffered when a car crashed into him during road training in Serendah, Selangor.
He called it a day at the end of 1970 to focus on the development of cycling in the country as secretary of MNCF.
Shaharudin formed cycling associations, built teams and restored racing events in Kedah, Melaka, Selangor, Johor, Negeri Sembilan and Pahang from the 1960s to the 1980s.
After his retirement from the civil service in 1994, he remained the go-to person in cycling and was inducted into OCM’s Hall of Fame in 2008.
Shaharudin changed the fate of Malaysian cycling not with money, but with heart, vision and sacrifices few would dare to make today.
Veteran journalist Terence Netto said: “He epitomised the ideals of sport – selfless dedication, quest for excellence, and the goodwill and friendship it spawned.”
As I had said in a previous article, we don’t just owe him a vote of thanks. We owe him a long cycle path in Shah Alam called Shaharudin Jaffar Way. - FMT
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