MHF needs Sultan Azlan

28/09/2002

THE Malaysian Hockey Federation (MHF) has pledged to get its house in
order, and they feel the only man who can help them achieve that is Sultan
Azlan Shah.
Although Sultan Azlan Shah had sent in a no-contest letter to MHF on
Sept 9, he still received backing from Armed Forces, Johor, Sabah and
Sarawak when nominations closed at midnight on Thursday.
MHF secretary S. Satgunam, who received a whopping 10 nominations, said
yesterday that they had made mistakes in the past, and will take it as a
learning process.
"I admit that there has been shortcomings in MHF over the last few
years. We have not been perfect. Some of the committees have not been up
to the mark, but I promise there will be changes after the Biennial
General Meeting (BGM) on Oct 26.
"But we need the help and guidance of Sultan Azlan Shah for another term
to get things back in order in the MHF," said Satgunam yesterday.
After finding out through the Press that Sultan Azlan Shah has been
nominated by four States, Satgunam said he received numerous calls from
other States and also former hockey internationals.
"I have received good feedback from some of the States which did not
nominate Sultan Azlan Shah and they wanted the MHF to send a delegation to
persuade the President to re-consider his no-contest stand. They also
wanted us to persuade him to stay on as the President of the Asian Hockey
Federation, just in case he decides to give up hockey totally.
"Some former hockey internationals also called me and suggested the
same. We (MHF) have decided that we will try and persuade Sultan Azlan
Shah in the next few days to stay on," said Satgunam.
Other than Sultan Azlan Shah, four other nominations were received for
the President's post. They are Sultan Ahmad Shah (Pahang, Penang), Sultan
Sharafuddin Idris Shah (Kelantan), Tan Sri Elyas Omar (Kuala Lumpur, Negri
Sembilan) and Datuk Abu Bakar Daud (Terengganu).
FA of Malaysia (FAM) president Sultan Ahmad Shah, who returned from
London yesterday, was reported as saying in Mailsport that he is keen to
head MHF - if he gets support from States.
"If there is support from all parties concerned, I will go for it
(President's post) and of course I will do it my way," said Sultan Ahmad
Shah when Mailsport met him at the KLIA.
The FA of Malaysia Executive Committee will meet soon to decide on
Sultan Ahmad Shah's position in FAM.
Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah had also said "NO", but Kelantan still
nominated him. As for Datuk Bakar, he had said he will withdraw gracefully
if there is a more suitable candidate.
Tan Sri Elyas Omar, nominated by Kuala Lumpur and Negri, has also
received support for the deputy president's post and he is likely to pull
out of the race for the President's post if either Sultan Azlan Shah or
Sultan Ahmad Shah decide to stand for elections.
"After nominations closed, I feel that the best man to helm MHF is still
Sultan Azlan Shah. The rest of them do not have enough clout to make a big
enough impact with the international body, FIH.
"Sultan Azlan Shah, just by his presence, can swing many things in
Malaysia's favour. The MHF has been hosting a number of international
tournaments over the years just because of the confidence the FIH has in
Sultan Azlan Shah.
"The rest of the nominees for the President's post have very little or
no background in hockey at all and so I feel that Sultan Azlan Shah should
stay on for at least another term," said Satgunam.
The MHF, after the Press had highlighted the broken link between them
and the schools, has had numerous meetings with the Malaysian Schools
Sports Council and progress to revive hockey at grassroots has started.
"Mistakes have been made in the past, but I guarantee changes, because
we have learnt from the mistakes and are working to bring back the glory
days of hockey," said Satgunam.
(END)