Where is our money, MAKSAK?

02/04/2002

SERGEANT Hashim Mohamed Yusoff, the Armed Forces coach, has a bone to pick
with the Government Services Sports Council (GSSC) because they have been
holding back the money promised to them for the Malaysia Hockey League
(MHL).
On Sunday, after losing 4-1 to Sapura, Hashim revealed that they have
yet to receive the promised grant from GSSC.
"The amount approved for hockey was RM12,000 which means that RM6,000
belongs to the Armed Forces and RM6,000 to the Navy which is the other
government sponsored team in the MHL. But I have yet to receive the money
and this has placed us in a spot," said Hashim.
Armed Forces have shown, after two matches, that they are not there just
to make up the numbers as they gave Maybank a tough fight before going
down 3-1 and on Sunday, shocked Sapura with an equaliser before going down
4-1.
"We have been training hard for the MHL and I have even injected young
blood into the team, but with the lack of funding, my hands are tied right
now," said Hashim.
The exciting players in the Armed Forces side are Supri Junoh, Abu Bakar
Abdullah, Ramli Mohamed and two 22-year-olds Mohamed Azhari Yusoff and
Zaini Sarip who not only have the speed but their basic skills are also
impressive.
Hashim has 40 players training under him right now and his plans are to
gradually introduce them to the game and by next year's MHL, Armed Forces
will be ready to put up a better challenge.
After two matches, it is safe to say that Armed Forces will not end up
at the bottom of the table - and don't be surprised if they finish in the
middle of the nine-team League.
Navy are doomed to finish at the bottom of the table when the dust
settles in the MHL because after two matches, they have conceeded 16 goals
and there is nothing to say that they will make a meteorite rise
in the next few weeks.
Jolly Lads Sports Club, and Bumiputra-Commerce Bank are the other two
weak teams which the Army men should have no problems beating.
The top four teams, as predicted, have done well over the last weekend
and for the League and Overall titles, the fight will be among Anderson
Sports Club, Bank Simpanan Nasional (BSN) and Tenaga Nasional.
Sapura, with an array of national stars in the stables, were shocked 5-1
by an average-looking Tenaga side but they salvaged some pride by securing
three points against the Army.
BSN are still waiting for their Pakistani players Sohail Abbas, the top
scorer in the recent Kuala Lumpur World Cup, and his teammate Kashif
Jawad. The duo look set to miss this weekend's fixtures, too, because of
work commitment back home.
But open tickets have been sent to them and they are expected to arrive
on April 10 and after that, no MHL team will trouble them and the double
looks like it is theirs - unless sheer bad luck like the 1998 crisis hits
the bankers.
jugjet@nstp.com.my
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