Sultan Azlan may return

16/10/2002

SULTAN Azlan Shah is expected to announce his decision on Saturday on
whether he will seek re-election for the post of president of the
Malaysian Hockey Federation (MHF).
MHF will be holding its council meeting then and Sultan Azlan Shah will
chair it to "settle the Kuala Lumpur World Cup accounts once and for all."
Sultan Azlan Shah had earlier decided not to seek re-election in the
Biennial General Meeting (BGM) on Oct 26 but was still nominated by four
affiliates when nominations for office bearers closed on Sept 25.
His nominations came from Armed Forces, Johor, Sarawak and Sabah.
MHF secretary S. Satgunam said yesterday that the council meeting will,
among other things, try and close the World Cup accounts.
"The KL World Cup accounts will dominate the bulk of discussion time,
and Sultan Azlan Shah is also expected to make it known whether he will
seek re-election or not during the BGM," said Satgunam.
The other nominees for the president's post are Sultan Ahmad Shah
(nominated by Pahang and Penang), former Kuala Lumpur mayor Tan Sri Elyas
Omar (Kuala Lumpur and Negri Sembilan), Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah
(Kelantan) and Datuk Abu Bakar Daud (Terengganu).
During the council meeting, the new nominees will have to show their
intent on contesting for the posts by handing in their "letter of intent",
via States who have nominated them.
"Right now there has been no change to the list of nominations but there
is ample time for, if any, withdrawals," said Satgunam.
Meanwhile, Satgunam said that the (MHF) management strongly feels that
players who have declined invitation to represent the country should be
left out of their future plans.
"We (MHF) feel that the present batch of youngsters did well to win a
bronze medal after a 12-year wait in the Asian Games and there is no
reason why we should not continue banking on them for future assignments.
"Those who opted out for studies will have to prove themselves, at
trials, and only don national colours on merit.
"We will not beg them to return as the present batch can be nurtured
into medal winners if we encourage them and put our trust in them," said
Satgunam.
After the Kuala Lumpur World Cup, 12 players from the project squad were
drafted into the national team and in a short period since March, they
have done what was almost an impossible task for such a raw side - win a
medal at the Asian Games.
Satgunam also said that a world class field has been confirmed for the
Azlan Shah Cup on March 22-30 in Ipoh.
"We invited and received prompt replies from Germany, India, South
Korea, Pakistan and New Zealand for the Azlan Shah Cup," said Satgunam.
Initially, Australia were invited but they declined because of their
commitment to the Australian Hockey League.
In their place, New Zealand were invited and a swift reply arrived
saying that they are more than pleased to play in the tournament.
(END)