Johor Manjit to contest veep post

By J.J. Shah
nstsport@nst.com.my

AFTER nearly three decades of involvement in the sport Johor Hockey Association (JHA) secretary Majid Manjit Abdullah believes that he contribute more to Malaysian hockey and has decided to contest one of the four vice-president’s post in the coming Malaysian Hockey Federation (MHF) biennial elections.
The long-serving Manjit, who has served in various capacities at both state and level in hockey in his 25 years involvement, revealed that he has received the blessings from several parties to contest the post.
“I have been involved in hockey for 25 years and I believe it is time to move up. The experience I have gained at various levels at state, national and international level will stand in good stead to help me take hockey to a new level,” said Manjit.
He was the national team manager from 1985-1986. He was the Seoul Asian Games team manager where Malaysia scored a rare 2-1 win over Pakistan at the Songnam Stadium with then skipper Sarjit Singh netting the winner.
Apart from that he was also appointed judge by the FIH at the Asia Cup in Dhaka in 1985 and the Inter-Continental Cup in New Jersey, USA in 1989. In the 1980s, Manjit was also involved as a judge and technical delegate in the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup.
With the Tengku Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah at the helm of MHF as the president, Malaysian hockey is undergoing a revival, Manjit added a “strong team” is needed to help the Tengku Mahkota of Pahang achieve his dream to make Malaysia a hockey powerhouse in the world.
While Tengku Abdullah is not expected to be challenged in his post, a keen contest is expected in the deputy president and vice-presidents posts.
Last week, incumbent vice-president Datuk Dr S.S. Cheema announced that he will be challenging incumbent Nur Azmi Ahmad for the deputy president’s post at the Oct 31 elections.
Two of the six vice-presidents’ posts are automatically given to Sabah and Sarawak, leaving contest for four veeps.