Don't just talk, act on it

04/07/2002

THE Malaysian Hockey Federation (MHF) council meeting on Friday is a
boiling volcano at the brink of eruption, but the eerie silence from
council members might just turn it into a joke of a meeting.
Council members who were approached by TimeSport chose to remain silent,
but promised that they will be very vocal in the meeting itself.
The last council meeting was held in 1999 so, naturally, there would be
plenty of questiones from the floor and misappropriation of money is on
the top of the agenda.
"Money collected by the MHF Umpires Bord has been unaccounted for in the
last few years.
"An investigation was started before V. Kulasingam became the chairman,
but nothing came out of it," said one member.
"I will bring up the matter in the council meeting. Maybe the MHF should
resume investigations because the amount involved is not small," said a
member who declined to be named.
The MHF circular on the council meeting was very brief, with minutes of
the last meeting to be tabled, matters arising and the Kuala Lumpur World
Cup budget on the agenda.
One council member revealed a shocking practice in the MHF. The parent
body works without a budget for the year.
"MHF doesn't believe in tabling the budget for the year.
"They work on an ad-hoc basis and only source for funds when a
particular tournament gets closer.
"This practice must be stopped because it is very messy and even the
sub-committees work without a budget," said the member.
Over the past months a majority of the MHF affiliates have been very
vocal in the press with Terenggaanu HA hitting the nail on the head by
saying there was a proper forum to make changes.
"If the state associations feel that there needs to be changes at the
top level of the MHF, they must decide during the elections.
"Speaking about their problems but not doing anything during the
elections is worthless," said THA secretary Tuan Haji Hamzah Ali.
Penang HA secretary Ranjit Singh is worried with the present trend of
players quitting hockey to concentrate on studies.
After the World Cup, Maninderjit Singh, Mirnawan Nawawi, S. Shankar, Nor
Azlan Bakar and Nasihin Nubli called it quits.
And now, budding striker Tajol Rosli and goalkeeper Khairul Nizam has
opted out.
Khairul stated in his withdrawal letter that he would be available for
the National Under-18 team but not the senior side. Tajol cited studies as
a reason.
The withdrawal of the duo is just the tip of the iceberg as several
players have shied away from the national side.
Jiwa Mohan and his brother Jivan have also declined national selection.
But while Shankar and Jiwa spoke direct to national coach Paul Lissek,
Jivan only sent a SMS (short message system) to Lissek, stating his
withdrawal.
Ranjit said he will bring up the matter and his suggestion is to let the
players train on their own.
"Training must be decentralised to let the players grow on their own,
the days of spoonfeeding are no longer practical and if players from
Europe and Australia can perform eventhough they are left alone with
training programmes, why can't we do the same?" questioned Ranjit.
"Right now, when players ask for study leave from universities, they are
told to choose sports or exams.
And when they approach their coaches, they are told to put their
studies on hold and play for the country.
"We have lost many good players because of this and it is time the MHF
come out with a practical solution," said Ranjit.
One proposal that is being given serious consideration is to bar the
players from playing in domestic competitions.
This, if it materialises, would be in line with the practice of the
Football Association of Malaysia, who bar players who snub national call-
ups.
Lissek said he will not force anyone to play, leaving the ball in MHF's
half.
(END)