Friday, July 25, 2008

No money for hockey, but plenty for Mercedes

Editors Note: The Terengganu State Government recently purchased 14 Mercedes E200 Kompressors for RM3.43mil, as they felt local car Perdana was useless.

MALAYSIA Games hosts Terengganu will not play in the Razak Cup next month, because they do not have enough money to send a team to Kuala Lumpur.
The Razak Cup will be held on Aug 2-10 at the Tun Razak Stadium, with eight teams in Division One and seven teams in Division Two.
"We do have the players, but not the money to field a team in the Razak Cup, and that is why we have released all our players to represent other states instead," said Terengganu HA secretary Mohamed Saberi yesterday.
Saberi said their budget for the year was exhausted after hosting the Malaysia Games.
"I know the Malaysia Games are held to develop sports at state level, but my hands are tied because we were left with nothing after hosting the Games," said Saberi.
Meanwhile, Malaysian Hockey Federation (MHF) com petitions committee chairman Datuk Dr S.S. Cheema said states, as well as players must not hold each other to ransom in their rush to secure release letters.
"The tournament rules are very clear on this matter. Players who turn up for selections and are dropped, can opt to play for any other state.
"And states have every right not to hand release letters to those who do not attend trials. But states who drop players cannot hold them to ransom by dictating where they can play.
"I expect some minor hiccups, as the norm in Razak Cup, and states can thrash out their problems during the man agers meeting on Aug 1," said Dr Cheema.
National Juniors will play as an outfit in Division One, and they will get another chance to play against 2009 Junior World Cup hosts Singapore after the 2-2 draw in the recent Junior Asia Cup.
Division One: Johor, Perak, Malacca, Armed Forces, Negri Sembilan, Kuala Lumpur, National Juniors, Singapore.
Division Two: Kedah, Police, Kelantan, Perlis, Pahang, Penang and Selangor.