Saturday, November 17, 2012

Dr Ramlan on Raja

Datuk Dr Ramlan Abdul Aziz, adviser to the Sports Minister, is active in the cyberworld. Below is his comment posted on Astro Arena's Kafe Sukan's facebook wall.
For the record, Dr Ramlan was one of the few confident the football team would return with the gold medal from the 2009 Laos SEA Games. Read here



"I seem to remember that not too long ago, SEA Games 2009 to be exact, when our men's football lost the opening match 1-3 to Vietnam. They had played quite poorly and if I recall correctly they were not too hot in the preceding friendly matches either. To compound matters further, the team lost the plot at the end and all hell broke loose with a red card and yellow cards flashed at the end. Total chaos. The next day, all and sundry went to town with reams of quotes on paper or the net totally villifying Coach Rajagobal and the team. Not totally unjustified, I have to say but as that was the very first match, as Malaysia's CDM at the Laos SEA Games I felt there was still so much to play for. So, I quietly took the Captain aside and had a few words in private. Then I assigned Dr Jolly Roy and Rebecca Wong, the two ISN psychologists who were with the contingent to sort the players out as a team and attend to some individuals who seemed to be at loose ends (pun intended, Muhammad Rizal Hashim :) ). The rest of the Contingent played their part, we mafe sure the football team didn't feel too badly and we strived to be supportive and I enjoyed sitting down with Coach Raja and his coaching staff at meals as often as I could, with all the rest of my job as CDM to do. The very next game agaianst Cambodia was a crucial one...the first goal took quite a while to come, with the team become more tense but that goal came and calmed everyone down, we eventually ran out 4-0 winners iirc. The rest is history.... So, what's the point of all this? As concerned as we are with what's going on, worrying, fretting and all that don't help much, if at all. Lots of support might very well turn things around. A team under siege has two main options..to stand up and be counted, or be swallowed up by the earth. This team was made in 2006 under Coach Raja and the rest of the FAM and he knows best. Of course he has responsibilities to live up to and a difficult role and job to perform. Let's wish him the best.

"Oh...and another thing. With the exception of some truly die-hard and passionate fans, dedicated officials and other well-wishers, generally support for Malaysian teams and athletes, though much welcome and appreciated is mostly of the "fair-weather friend" type. Hope this will change soon enough...it's headed in the right direction, albeit slowly. The burden of high expectations is truly heavy one. Do we share in whatever way we can or do we merely watch and whine?"

2 comments:

HSKAMAL said...

Hi, Datuk Dr Ramlan...

Firstly, i want to say I'm so happy and glad for you at being appointed as the sports adviser to the minister...
I felt assured and confident the minute i heard the reporting on tv on your appointment. I, strongly believe you can propel our sports to greater achievement in the coming future starting with football and hockey.ops...

By the way Datuk, you were saying in your writing on Kafe sukan facebook that the "expectation is truly heavy one and people merely watch and whine"
Frankly Datuk, pls tell us weather a long high-pitched complaining cry which you put it as 'whining' are not part and parcel of these cruel world we live in? or do we just pretend that everything is fine...hurray! hurray!

Do you frankly thing thus far the achivement by our football team is on merit? Don't you feel Datuk, that something was fishy (ikan masak tom yam Thailand) in the match aganist them during the sea games?

Those comments by the ordinary football fans out there are their true passion as a football lover. But what about the comments coming from people with the knowledge of reporting many big sports event around the world? are they categorized as 'whining' too?. There are also comments from qualified and knowledgeable people coming from out there...are they critical or whining too as you put it?

To me, the bottom line is, critics and negative but constructive criticism or comments should be made part and parcel of all sports and absorbed well as food for thought...
I'm also pretty sure not all the comments made are coming from "fair-weather friend" - take me for instance, I've been critical of our football team specifically and our sports generally from the time i qualified as a football coach (1996 onwards)

However, i truthfully hope you can make the differences needed to improve and lift the standard of our nations sports and the people running it without favour or fear... Godbless!

Anonymous said...

Hmmmm dengar different version from the captain sendiri,.said Dato DR Ramlan sound dia,..kutuk team bila kalah first game..:)