Friday, October 19, 2012

Buat Man dan Dila...


Terlalu sibuk dengan urusan duniawi sehingga aku lewat mengucapkan selamat berangkat kepada adikku Man dan isterinya Dila. Kalian akan menempuh perjalanan paling Agung.

Allah SWT dengan limpah Rahmatnya telah menjemput kalian, aku dan keluarga berdoa agar Ibadah Haji Man dan Dila diterima Allah dan agar mendapat Haji yang Mabrur ....

Beruntunglah kalian mendapat jemputan paling agung ke Tanah Suci ketika belumpun berusia 40 tahun.

Aku masih ingat lagi ketika kali pertama menjejakkan kaki ke Tanah Suci pada 1988. Selain belajar menunai ibadah Umrah, aku ada dua kenangan yang mencuit hati. Pertama dalam perjalanan ke Masjidil Haram dari tempat penginapan kami, aku ditahan polis.

Tiada dokumen pengenalan, maklumlah sekadar bawa riyal yang tak seberapa. Nyaris aku diangkut masuk ke dalam van kerana mereka sangka aku Bangla datang tanpa izin ke Makkah. Mujur Man menyusul di belakang tidak lama kemudian, menjelaskan keadaan dalam Bahasa Arab...balik ke kamar, aku, arwah Mak dan Ayah gelak mendengar insiden itu...aku cakap kalau tidak Mak dan Ayah cari Riz dekat lokap!


Man ajar aku ikat serban, maklumlah dia belajar sekolah agama...satu keputusan arwah Ayah yang sangat tepat dan berwawasan kerana Man mengimamkan solat jenazah mengiringi perjalanan terakhir Ayah pada 20 Syaaban 1418




Saat-saat menjelang remaja satu kenangan indah. Man lebih cenderung belajar, sopan berbanding aku pulak kaki main bola, bersukan dan suka melukis serta kaki enjoy


Di rumah Atok di Kluang, di kala kami masih comel-comel belaka



Dedaun masa memastikan kecomelan kami sudah ditelan zaman. Gambar kenangan pada malam Man dan Dila nak berangkat Rabu lalu

Aku juga mendapat satu pengajaran besar di sana. Man ada masalah cagu di kakinya, dan aku mengeluarkan kata-kata macam geli lah, tidak lama kemudian siku aku bernanah...menyukarkan aku menyalin baju, mengambil wudhu' dan mengakibatkan aku kurang selesa sepanjang Umrah itu...tanda Allah mengirim mesej agar jaga mulut di Tanah Suci.

Man dan Dila menerima pengesahan buat Haji tahun lalu tetapi disebabkan mereka berada di Dubai, mereka terpaksa menolak.

Aku sekadar menawarkan opsyen kepada Man jika tiada pilihan lain - aku dan Intan jaga dua anaknya dengan pembantu rumah mereka sekali, maklumlah kami tiada pembantu rumah...atau kami jagakan kereta...

Kepada Man dan Dila, usah lupa panjatkan doa buat kami sekeluarga...juga kepada saudara-mara, jiran dan rakan taulan yang menunaikan Rukun Islam kelima, semoga mendapat Haji Mabrur dan diberkati perjalanan pergi dan pulang.

Bagi yang meraikan Zulhijjah di tanah air, semoga berpuasa meraikan bakal Haji di Tanah Suci. Jika ada kemampuan, tunailah ibadah korban.

Imbas semula kembara jalanan Pak Mat di sini dan sini.

Man, pssst, sesekali Bg Is pinjam kereta bawak  Kak Intan round-round eh?


Wednesday, October 3, 2012

Sportinglah sikit...


Aku ingin merakamkan rasa kecewa amat sangat selepas dimaklumkan bahawa beberapa individu termasuk seorang pegawai tertinggi Majlis Olimpik Malaysia (MOM), seorang wartawan dan sebuah akhbar diberi surat tuntutan oleh Majlis Sukan Negara (MSN) berhubung

Baca Malay Mail to be sued, Suing Spree dan NSC sues Mesuma

Beberapa persoalan berlegar dalam benak aku.

1. Bukankah MSN terbabit dalam satu kes saman di mahkamah? Perlu lagi kes lain?

2. Apakah tindakan mengirim surat tuntutan itu mendapat persetujuan Lembaga Pengurusan MSN yang dipengerusikan oleh Menteri Belia dan Sukan?

3. Bagaimana pula pendapat dua wakil MOM dan presiden Persatuan Penulis-penulis Sukan Malaysia (SAM) yang menganggotai Lembaga Pengurusan MSN?

4. Di saat Datuk Seri Ahmad Shabery Cheek mahu dilihat lebih terbuka dan telus sehingga memohon maaf atas kegagalan program Road to London, tindakan MSN boleh ditafsir sebagai tunjuk kuat dan berlawanan dengan semangat kesukanan yang tinggi.

5. Pegawai, jurulatih, akhbar dan wartawan adalah stakeholders dalam arena sukan. Mereka juga warga Malaysia...mereka juga rakyat negara ini yang didendangkan dengan slogan Janji Ditepati, Rakyat Didahulukan...

6. Apakah MSN pantang ditegur?

Sekadar berkongsi pengalaman sepanjang 20 tahun membuat liputan MSN...

Ketua Pengarah MSN dari 1993 hingga 2005, Datuk Wira Mazlan Ahmad, diasak dengan pelbagai kontroversi, isu dan tuduhan sepanjang tempoh itu.

Antaranya pendedahan muka depan akhbar The Malay Mail pada 1995.

"THE Olympic Council of Malaysia, shocked at the allegation that the National Sports Council spent millions on substandard athletics equipment, has asked for a probe into the possibility of shady deals.


"I certainly hope that there is no hanky-panky involved. However, the NSC must check it out. There must be no cover-up," he said. Sieh was responding to The Malay Mail report quoting officials and coaches in charge of NSC's 1998 Commonwealth Games centres of excellence that they had been provided with substandard equipment hazardous to their athletes.

The officials and coaches claimed that the equipment not only failed International Amateur Athletic Federation (IAAF) specifications but are also a danger to the athletes. The hurdles, for instance, are so fragile that if it snaps, it can hurt the athlete. High jump bars made of cheap material bend easily, discuses disintegrate after a few throws, and stopwatches give inaccurate timings."

"The National Sports Council (NSC) should show that they have got nothing to hide instead of preventing their coaches from speaking to the Malaysian public.

Athletics coach Mohamed Musa Nor Mohamed yesterday spoke out on the matter and called on the NSC to grant "freedom of speech" to their workers.

He wants the NSC to prove that there are no skeletons in the closet by allowing coaches to make Press statements.

The Malaysian AAU development chairman said: "If they have nothing to hide, why are coaches hired by NSC not allowed to issue Press statements?" The coach from Pahang pointed out that proof of NSC's "information blackout" was contained in their contracts with coaches which forbid the latter from issuing Press statements.

"If they are sincere and interested in sports development, they will allow coaches to speak to the Press. Constructive criticism will help highlight the problems faced by coaches and athletes.

"What are they scared of?" Musa, who recently called for the resignation of NSC's foreign coaches at the Kajang athletics centre of exellence, has been issued a show cause letter by NSC for making several Press reports."

Laporan itu mengakibatkan MSN disiasat Badan Pencegah Rasuah (BPR). Akhirnya nama MSN dibersihkan. Peliknya Mazlan tidak mengambil sebarang tindakan undang-undang pun.Selama 12 tahun bukan sedikit komentar keras, sindiran tajam dan perbezaan pendapat yang dilemparkan ke arah MSN dan Mazlan tetapi peliknya paling teruk pun hanya ancaman kepada wartawan tidak boleh masuk ke kawasan MSN, seperti yang pernah disuarakan terhadap aku!

Sekali lagi peminat, pegawai, jurulatih, wartawan dan ibu bapa - kita harus ingatkan pemegang jawatan sama ada badan bukan kerajaan atau agensi kerajaan agar berani dilambung ombak jika sudah berumah di tepi pantai. Jika tidak bolehlah pilih duduk di tengah pekan...

Bagi semua pemimpin sukan, cubalah contohi semangat generasi terdahulu seperti Allahyarham Tan Sri Hamzah Abu Samah, King Ghaz...sportinglah sikit...

Risau juga nanti MSN digelar Majlis Saman Negara...

Satu permintaan kepada Ahmad Shabery, dulu Datuk Seri kata boleh arahkan pegawai muncul dalam program kendalian seorang blogger Dengan Izin di Astro Arena 801...Jadi? Janji Ditepati!

Nota kaki:

Kalau saman penulis artikel warkah terbuka buat Rizal Hashim, berapa agaknya jumlah ganti rugi? Tapi apabila bertemu tahun lalu, aku mengambil gambar di bawah bersama Tepak Bersulam. Dia tahu juga banyak rahsia MSN hehehe. Apabila kita berperang (jenis yang bukan hunus senjata), cedera dan luka sebahagian daripada cabarannya!




Era Piala Malaysia, Sinar retro Pestabola la...

Kalau stesen radio Era diletakkan sebagai penaja Piala Malaysia, Sinar wajar sekali dijadikan wadah menghidupkan semula Pestabola Merdeka...seperti yang ku bisikkan kepada penerbit kanan Astro Arena, Slamet Sazly Yakub.



Congratulations Sharon

Almost a month back, Sharon Wee was among three women honoured by the Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM). Read here


Never too late to extend my warmest felicitation to Sharon, one of few athletes to make the transition from athlete to commentator/presenter with consummate ease! Squash was never my beat since it was the domain of Fariq Rahman in the Malay Mail. It is indeed now a pleasure to be a colleague of Sharon at Astro Arena 801. Of course we are backing squash's bid to be included in the Olympic Games!



Friday, September 28, 2012

Raja Bola is no more

When the rest of us were playing football barefooted, there was this one lad who came well-equipped. He had a pair of boots on! He stood out for being very different from the rest.

Ah, what a show-off, some would say. That's the Malaysian psyche those days. Especially among 11-year olds.

But Nik Abdul Halim Abdul Ghani is and was in the province of the privileged. He had footballing pedigree in his blood.

One day I saw his father picking him up.

"Eh that's looks like Ghani Minhat." Yes, having made the newspapers and sports magazines as my regular reading diet, I could instantly recognise him although he was no longer hitting the headlines in the 80s.
No wonder his son came attired in full-gear. It was meant to instill a sense of professionalism at such a young age.

The moment Fariq Rahman called me to inform of Tan Sri Abdul Ghani Minhat's passing this morning, the first number I dialled was that of Nik Abdul Halim. He did not respond, understandably so as he is the eldest son tasked to make the necessary arrangements for his father's final journey. To Nik and family, please accept my deepest condolences.

Never did I imagine being able to be face to face with Raja Bola whom I've had the pleasure of interviewing numerous times. One of them resulted in this piece below, which appeared in the Malay Mail in 2005:

HE remains Raja Bola to many.

To most of his South Korean contemporaries, he was known as Khani. Mailsport's RIZAL HASHIM catches up with legendary Datuk Abdul Ghani Minhat, a Negri Sembilan-born football wizard who weaved his magic with Selangor.

Mailsport: How are you Datuk?

Ghani Minhat: I'm fine. A little bit busy because my electrical company has a deadline to meet.

MS: Do you still keep abreast with football?

GM: Of course, but mostly on the telly. However, as I'm in the Negri Sembilan team management committee, I have been to a few matches including the Premier League final against Selangor.

MS: I believe 1959 was a very significant year for you. First you were bestowed the title Raja Bola by Selangor, and later you were voted by the Sunday Mail readers as the Sportsman of the Year in the biggest ever national sports poll by any Malayan newspaper then (second was sprinter Datuk Shahruddin Ali, followed by footballer Robert Choe).

GM: Yes, but that year also there was a smear campaign against me. I was dropped by the FA of Selangor because I was made the scapegoat due to the team's dip in form. Despite all the honours and adulation, one man does not make a team.

MS: Tell us about your early days.

GM: I did not come from a family of footballers. I played very little organised football until I was invited to play for the Police Depot team in 1951. My father was a staff at the Police Depot at Gurney Road (now Jalan Semarak) and I guess my talent was spotted while kicking a ball around with other youngsters. But I think I had managed to stamp my mark at school level. I can recall back in 1949 when I was representing the Selangor Combined Schools against the boys from Malay College of Kuala Kangsar (MCKK). MCKK players were equipped with boots while we were barefooted. We won 1-0. The MCKK headmaster wanted a rematch the following day, this time without the boots but still we won 6-0. Those days our mode of transport was a lorry belonging to the State Education Department.

MS: Your stint in Germany and England alongside Robert Choe in 1962 was described by the national media as the Big Freeze.

GM: Frozen pitches wreaked havoc to our plans. Our first stop was Frankfurt, with Eintracht, coached by Paul Oswald. It was during winter and I saw snow for the first time in my life. Then Robert and I were attached to West Ham, then coached by Ron Greenwood (later to become England coach 1977-82).

MS: Any regrets?

GM: The class of 1956 was good enough to play in the Melbourne Olympic Games but the FAM did not have the means to finance the entry fee.

MS: What do you think is lacking among today's generation of footballers?

GM: The willingness to go the extra mile to improve themselves. If you talk about the late Mokhtar Dahari, Awang Bakar, Shahruddin Abdullah and Soetjipto Suntoro, they shared the common desire to polish their technique and skills. While others were packing their bags to go home, they were either doing shooting drills or practising free-kicks. I used to start my day as early as 5am by jogging and running around Kampung Baru because I wanted to be superfit.

 Profile: Datuk Abdul Ghani Minhat
 Born: Dec 23, 1935 at Kg Solok (Kg Masjid), Rantau, Negri Sembilan
Family: Wife Datin Tengku Aishah Tengku Ibrahim, sons Nik Abdul Halim and Nik Mohd Hanif, daughters Nik Salwani and Nik Sarina
Achievements: Helping Malaya to the Merdeka Tournament titles in 1958, 1959, 1960, helping Selangor to the Malaya and Malaysia Cup titles on seven occasions (1959, 60, 61, 62, 63, 66, 68), Sunday Mail's Sportsman of the Year 1959.
Current position: Executive chairman of SLM Letronik Maju Sdn Bhd 
Coaching stints: Coach of Malaysia with a few breaks from 1969 to 1977, Selangor for two spells 1970-72, 1983-85 and currently member of Negri Sembilan Premier League management committee.

Later, I did another piece with Raja Bola below, this time for the weekly pullout EPLx Kosmo:


Read here

May Allah grant his soul the gardens of paradise. Al-Fatihah


Monday, September 17, 2012

Real lucky for LIMBC lucky draw


Proton Satria Neo top prize in LIMBC lucky draw

www.mtbmalaysia.com

http://www.facebook.com/LIMBCMALAYSIA

https://twitter.com/LIMBCMALAYSIA

KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 17): Register for the Langkawi International Mountain Bike Challenge (LIMBC) 2012 Tradewinds jamboree on Oct 14 and you could be the one lucky person to drive home a Proton Satria Neo!

The car is the biggest drawcard among the lucky draw prizes worth almost RM100,000 to be given away after the Tradewinds jamboree race at Kuah, Langkawi.

“We are proud to say LIMBC 2012 offers prizes galore for the Tradewinds jamboree lucky draw. It is unprecedented in any jamboree organised in Malaysia to offer a car as the biggest prize,” said Human Voyage CEO, Datuk Malik Mydin.


Who will be the lucky one to drive home with a Satria Neo on Oct 14?

Malik added for just RM60, participants also have a shot at winning items such as iPads, tablet personal computers, Blackberry smartphones, Tissot watches, jerseys and other mountain bike-related equipments.


Some of the gadgets to be won

“Tradewinds jamboree participants will enjoy a great 40km off-road course, get a bag of real goodies and take home the much sought after LIMBC finisher’s medal. Every participant will then stand a chance of driving home with the Satria Neo.”


Malik Mydin entertains question from the media

The off-road jamboree ride is limited to 1,000 riders and serves as the precursor to the 3rd edition of LIMBC on Oct 15-20. For details visit www.mtbmalaysia.com, email info@mtbmalaysia.com, or call +603-9222 0786 or fax +603-9222 1786.

Upon registration participants will receive a goodie bag comprising two exclusive LIMBC T-shirts, a sling bag, a note book, a water bottle, car dashboard accessory, fridge magnet and a mug.

This year’s edition, co-sponsored by Tradewinds Corporation and Yayasan Sime Darby, offers a total prize money of US$125,000 (RM400,000) and is open to four categories of rider – Male Open (ages 19-39 years), Female Open (ages 19 years and above), Masters Men (ages 40-49 years) and Senior Masters Men (50 years and above).

LIMBC 2012 will flag off on Monday 15 October with the prologue - an individual time trial of 2.4km at the Eagle Square, followed by Stage 1, a 65km round the island race.Stage 2 is a 45km race from East to West Langkawi, followed by a gruelling Stage 3, the 87km Langkawi Marathon.

Stage 4 is an Olympic distance Cross Country race around Langkawi GeoPark followed by Stage 5, a stunning beachfront finale around a short circuit at Pantai Kok.

This year’s race has attracted the men’s elite defending champion Karl Platt, UCI MTB Marathon series world No 1, Steffen Thum and Burry Stander who finished fifth in the recent London Olympic Games.


Platt will defend his men's elite title


Top German sprinter Simon Gegenheimer is coming


Men's elite runners-up last year Burry Stander who finished fifth in the Olympics, will have wife Cherise for company


Steffen Thum comes to Langkawi with the tag as the No 1 UCI MTB Marathon series rider 


Tradewinds Corporation Berhad and Yayasan Sime Darby are co-sponsors as Platinum Partners for LIMBC 2012. Silver sponsors are Telekom Malaysia, Proton Holdings Berhad, Berjaya Corporation Berhad and Maju Group. Bronze partners are AmBank Group and ALM Group Sdn Bhd. The event is supported by the Langkawi Development Authority (LADA) and Ministry of Tourism Malaysia.


Sunday, September 16, 2012

Doubles delight for ATP Malaysian Open


The Malaysian Open, Kuala Lumpur 2012, release the main draw doubles entry list today and that its inaugural doubles Champions from Poland, Marcin Matkowski and Mariusz Fyrstenberg will headline the field.

They are seventh in the race for the London World Tour Finals, with the top eight teams qualifying. The pairing won the Malaysian Open, Kuala Lumpur in 2009 as part of their current title haul of 13 tournaments. In 2010 they were also finalists in Malaysia, and clearly feel very comfortable with the court and playing conditions at Bukit Jalil.

In 2011 they were finalists at the US Open and this year they won the ATP Masters 1000 title in Madrid and were finalists in Dubai.

Tournament Director Nick Freyer of organisers IMG said:

“We welcome back Marcin and Mariusz back to KL for their third appearance in four years and enjoy watching them as much as they seem to enjoy Malaysia. But with so many successful tournament winning doubles players in the draw this year, a third finals appearance will be no stroll in the park.”

To prove the point that singles players are still playing doubles, we will see two players who have been ranked in the world’s top-ten for singles teaming up, Juan Monaco, currently ranked #11 and Jurgen Melzer who is also returning to KL after his first visit last year.

Monaco, who is making his eagerly awaited debut in Malaysia, is not a regular doubles player, but still has two titles and two finals to his credit, while Melzer has significant success on the doubles court - he owns 12 doubles titles including trophies from the Championships at Wimbledon and the US Open.

Asia is nicely represented by Treat Conrad Huey of The Philippines – the first time that the Philippines have been represented in the tournament.

He and British player Dominic Inglot have had a great season in 2012. Together they won the ATP 500 in Washington, reached the final in Houston, were semi-finalists at Newport and quarter-finalists at Estoril and Bucharest. They also made it to the last 16 at the French Open.

Heuy and Inglot are sitting in www.MalaysianOpenTennis.com 17th spot in the race but a few big wins like in Kuala Lumpur, could catapult them into contention for London.

Alexander Peya and Bruno Soares are teaming up again. This year they were finalists at Bastad in Sweden. They also made the quarters of the US Open. Peya also won in Auckland this year while Soares won in Sao Paulo. Julian Knowle and Filip Polasek could very well be turning into quite a formidable doubles tandem. They were quarter-finalists at the US Open and in Winston-Salem this year, but with his other partner Knowle, he has fourteen titles and Polasek has nine.

This year Knowle who has been a career finalist at Wimbledon, the US Open and the season-ending championships, this year won in Kitzbuhel and was a finalist in Estoril, while Polasek won in Munich and Doha.

Another team that could be close to breaking into the London finals are Colin Fleming and Ross Hutchins. They are 13th in the Race and in 2012 won in Eastbourne and Delray Beach, the final at Newport semis in Atlanta, Memphis and Sydney and quarters at Queen’s. They also made the last 16 at the US Open. Last year in KL, both players made a memorable helicopter flight above the famous Petronas Towers, as part of the tournaments international marketing efforts.


Fleming (left) and Hutchins hovering around KL last year

The doubles enhances the singles draw which will be led by world No.5 David Ferrer who became only the second Spaniard after Rafa Nadal to reach the quarters or better at all four Grand Slam events in a single year. Joining Ferrer will be Juan Monaco, Alexandr Dolgopolov, Kei Nishikori, Sam Querry, Feliciano Lopez and a host of other ATP World Tour stars.

Ferrer, who made the semis of the US Open last week, will be heading to Kuala Lumpur following Davis Cup duties this week in Spain (against the United States), and tournament organisers IMG have confirmed that David will play his first match on Thursday evening, September 27th.

The Malaysian Open, Kuala Lumpur is supported by the Ministry of Tourism, Malaysia, and Tourism Malaysia and commercial sponsors including Rado, the DoubleTree by Hilton Kuala Lumpur, CNN International, Astro, Wilson, 100 Plus, Corona, The ATP World Tour’s Premier Partner, and is sanctioned by the Lawn Tennis Association of Malaysia. Tickets are available at www.MalaysianOpenTennis.com.