`Stricter criteria needed'

09/11/1998

THE National Sports Council (NSC) are keen to have a stricter selection
criteria for future national assignments and will ask that the Olympic
Council of Malaysia (OCM) prepare new guidelines.
NSC director-general Datuk Mazlan Ahmad said since Malaysia will be
bidding to host the 2006 Asian Games as well as the 2008 Olympics, the
selection criteria for athletes must be raised from the current third-
placing requirement to achieve better results.
"We hope to have the new guidelines ready by January so that the
athletes preparing for the Brunei Sea Games can start preparing early,"
said Mazlan.
"For Brunei, the criteria will not be the third-placing mark achieved at
the last Sea Games in Jakarta but we will use the Bangkok Asian Games as a
yardstick."
Mazlan was not willing to go into the details of the plan but assured
that it would be a competitive mark and even if only a handful are
selected, it would be fine with NSC.
"We need to think bigger and stop using the Sea Games results as
guideline. After finishing fourth overall at the Kuala Lumpur Commonwealth
Games, we need to set higher standards," said Mazlan after closing the
three-day motivational camp for the Asian Games athletes at Bukit Jalil.
"The Bangkok-bound contingent of 139 athletes will be the crucial test
to see if we are ready to be a sports power in selected sports and justify
the amount of money and time spent on athletes."
Mazlan then ticked off sports associations who did not bother to send
their athletes to the motivational camp.
A group of athletes who sneaked out of camp after registering were also
warned.
"When they need money and help, they (associations) approach NSC and OCM
but when we organise courses to motivate them, they don't bother to
attend. These associations and athletes will be the biggest losers because
when they approach us for whatever assistance next time, we might not be
willing to accommodate them."
The Malaysian National Cycling Federation (MNCF) were one of the
associations who did not send cyclists Nor Affendy Rosli, Shahrulneeza
Rusli and Mahadzir Hamad to attend the three-day camp.
Also absent without reason were squash players Leong Siu Lynn and Nicol
David.
The national badminton squad went one step further by registering on the
first day and then sneaking out of the camp with the exception of Roslin
Hashim.
(END)