By Jugjet Singh
COMMENT
OUTGOING Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC) president Tengku Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah stunned the gallery with his parting speech when he said the new council will need GST from the public, as well as its creditors to wake up.
There was a moment of awkward silence, followed by all round smiles and laughter when Tengku Abdullah said: "GST here means Give Some Time."
GST is what the MHC need as they have a debt of RM2.6 million to clear, and it keeps increasing as junior and senior teams criss-cross the globe to play friendlies in the run-up to the World League Semi-finals as well as the Sea Games and the Junior Asia Cup.
Knowing well that the clock started ticking when he was unopposed as president of the MHC when nominations closed on April 28, Datuk Seri Subahan Kamal has been on his toes since, meeting relevant parties and formulating KPI's for them, even before they were elected on May 13.
One matter that was discussed way ahead, and stamped right after the elections was the appointment of a Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Former International K. Logan Raj was hand-picked by Subahan, and his newly elected council endorsed it. Logan, Subahan said, will start work immediately.
The newly elected members did not have the luxury of GST to choose a CEO, as it was the prerogative of the president and he made a lightning bolt decision which caught many by surprise, some speechless, while others said they had no comments.
Minutes after the appointment, followed emails on Logan's job scope, as well as his KPI which was a mouthful, but Logan Raj has no GST on his side as his job scope sees him doing stuff from the office-boy level to the daily running of the MHC to bringing in revenue which is just some of the tasks that the former player with more than 200 caps will be up against for the next two years.
Logan Raj started work yesterday, and when contacted said he has yet to walk into his new office as he has been running around doing other stuff as directed by the president. He said he knows the weight that has been placed on his shoulders, and the KPI expected of him is quite heavy, and he quipped: "Even the pile of paper that my KPI has been printed on is quite heavy, but that does not worry me as I am ready and willing to give my all."
As Tengku Abdullah said, GST should be applied at all levels, and Logan Raj has two years to get the house in order as he does not have the luxury of a secretary or assistant secretary as the new constitution abolished those posts.
He will inherit many office helpers from the previous regime, but they have been in a comfort zone for far too long, and this is one group that GST must not be applied to as they had ample time under former secretary Datuk Johari Aziz but fared miserable.
One para of Logan Raj's job scope states: The CEO assumes the day-to-day management and operation of the MHC on behalf of the Executive Board, in accordance to all directives and policies established by the President and/or Executive Board."
Logan Raj must hit the ground running, and keep running for the next two years, just to place the administrative side of MHC from red to black. From debtors to a healthy bank balance.
Oh, before I forget, for those who questioned the selection of Logan Raj, and there are many, GST to the lad who gave half his life to hockey in training and playing in the 1998 KL Commonwealth Games, 2001 Hobart Junior World Cup, 2002 KL World Cup, and a host of Olympic qualifiers as well as skipper to the Korat Sea Games gold medal side.
His CV has hockey blood splattered on it, and now he has been recalled to spill more sweat and blood into his new position as nobody envies what the president and his men have in store for him for the next two years.
