THE Kuala Lumpur 1MAS programme is in a big mess, because of miss-information among parents, KL officials and director Tai Beng Hai.
Kuala Lumpur HA suspended their 1MAS Boys' programe in February without informing Beng Hai, and it has since spiralled in an all-out 'war' among the stake holders -- namely parents who are anxious to know if their children can play in the Under-13 tournament on May 7.
"This issue has been blown out of proportion because of misunderstanding, and for starters, KLHA stopped the boys programme without informing 1MAS," said Beng Hai.
KLHA's have their own reason, and according to their secretary V. Rajamanickam not more than nine boys attend training at any one of their sessions.
"We had to suspend the boys 1MAS programme because of lack of attendance. At ony one time, only about nine under-13 boys turn up for the training under coaches K. Embaraj, S. Selvaraju and S. Bubalan.
"So, we decided to suspend the programme, and are in the midst of trying to re-vamp it. The girls section has no problems because they attract a large number of trainees," said Rajamanickam.
Beng Hai met with KLHA development chairman Datuk N. Sri Shanmuganathan yesterday to clear the air, and it looks like the KL boys will not be victims of misunderstanding.
"I had a meeting with Sri Shan today (yesterday) and he is in the midst of getting new coaches to revamp their 1MAS programme because some of the previous coaches like K. Rajan and Selvaraju left because of other commitments.
"In the end, to clear the mess of misinformation, I would like to assure parents that their children can still play in the 1MAS under-13 tournament and all we need is a list of players from KLHA so that we can buy insurance, and they will be allowed to play in the tournament.
"The 1MAS programme is to develop grassroots, and rest assured, players will not be victimised because of misinformation, or any other external issues.
"As long as the states send us a list of their players, we will accommodate them in tournaments and other zonal programmes," said Beng Hai.
Beng Hai is expected to meet Rajamanickam on Monday to clear the air further.
