Punch-ing bag

Datuk Punch Gunalan has been in the news of late. My friend has a take on this.

Read
here

Satu lagi tuduhan berat...

Majlis Sukan Negara (MSN) nampaknya dilempar dengan tuduhan amat berat, kali ini membabitkan penggunaan (atau tiadanya penggunaan) sistem perisian keputusan Sukan Malaysia (Sukma).

Bacalah
di sini

Perginya Bapa Bola Sepak Kedah

TERKINI

Kelab penyokong Kedah hijaukuning.com (HKC) akan mengadakan majlis tahlil buat Allahyarham Datuk Paduka Ahmad Basri Mohd Akil selepas Maghrib di Masjid Negara pada Khamis 17 Julai 2008.




Aku baru dimaklumkan bahawa Datuk Paduka Ahmad Basri Mohd Akil, 69, menghembuskan nafas terakhirnya dalam jam 3.00 petang tadi.

Bekas Naib Presiden FAM itu dikatakan rebah ketika majlis sambutan Jubli Emas Tuanku Sultan Abdul Halim Muadzam Shah di Istana Anak Bukit dan meninggal dunia sejurus dibawa ke Hospital Sultanah Bahiyah di Alor Star.

Aku mengucapkan takziah kepada seluruh keluarga Allahyarham dan tentunya warga bola sepak negeri Kedah atas kehilangan sebutir permata yang menyinari bola sepak tempatan dengan ketokohannya, kelantangannya, keberaniannya dan gaya tersendirinya dalam mencari satu resipi kejayaan.

Aku sedih kerana aku berjumpa dengan Allahyarham dengan beberapa kenalan lain, termasuk Azraai, Zainul dan Bashah di Hotel Seri Malaysia di Alor Star untuk makan malam bulan lalu. Hotel itu bersebelahan Stadium Darulaman, gelanggang yang banyak mengharumkan nama Allahyarham selaku Bapa Bola Sepak Kedah.

Ketika itupun aku sedar Allahyarham tidak segirang dan seghairah dulu dalam membincangkan bola sepak Kedah mahupun negara.

Ada detik ketika aku dan Allahyarham bersama Datuk Dell Akbar Khan Hyder Khan dalam keretapi di Jepun terakam pada 1999 tapi seperti biasa, entah ke mana hilangnya gambar itu waktu ini!

Ketika itu aku bersama rombongan FAM dipelawa mengkaji struktur dan program pembangunan bola sepak negara Matahari Terbit itu.

Al-Fatihah buat seorang sahabat. Semoga rohnya ditempatkan di kalangan roh mereka yang beriman.

Dikemas kini

Sementara itu, bekas naib presiden FAM, Tan Sri Elyas Omar, amat dukacita dengan pemergian Allahyarham yang disifatkan sebagai satu kehilangan besar buat masyarakat bola sepak tempatan.

"Kita hanya boleh mendoakan agar rohnya ditempatkan di kalangan orang yang soleh. Bagi saya, Allahyarham seorang yang komited, jujur dan berdaya maju dalam pemikirannya.

"Kemajuan yang dikecapi Kedah adalah atas daya usaha Allahyarham. Kami berkawan rapat ketika kami sama-sama memegang jawatan di FAM. Tanpa mengira tempat, kami selalu berbincang bagaimana cara-cara terbaik membangunkan bola sepak negara.

"Kami banyak berkongsi suka duka. Dalam kejujurannya, Allahyarham selalu menyatakan isi hatinya, setuju atau tidak setuju, itulah datang daripada hati sanubuarinya yang ikhlas. Allahyarham tidak ada kepentingan diri. Dalam banyak aspek, Allahyarham mengingatkan saya kepada diri saya sendiri," kata Tan Sri Elyas.

Bekas Datuk Bandar Kuala Lumpur itu turut mengucapkan takziah kepada keluarga Allahyarham.

The Shebby treatment

The actors – B. Sathianathan and Shebby Singh.

The director – Harian Metro.

The war of words between national team supremo Sathianathan and ex-international and football pundit Shebby is not doing the game any good.

In my humble opinion, Sathianathan should not waste his energy retaliating.

After all every Tom, Dick and Harry, or in our case, Ahmad, Ah Chong, Mutu and Shebby Singh has an opinion as to how we should play the game!

Shebby and I come from the same kampung, Kluang. We used to be close until one fine day in February 2007 I wrote an Open Letter to him in the Malay Mail. It's reproduced here

TO Serbegeth Singh Dher Singh AKA Shebby,

My friend, I hope this letter finds you in great health. Allow me to congratulate you on TMFC's 2-1 victory over bottom-placed Sarawak in the Super League clash on Wednesday.

It was great to see you, a respected football pundit, putting your money where your mouth is, even for a fleeting moment as a caretaker coach.

There is no doubt that you have innovative ideas on how the beautiful game should be played. I was even intrigued by your decision to field Nazzab Hidzan, the erstwhile playmaker of TMFC, as a sweeper during the encounter at Petaling Jaya Stadium.

However, the reason I'm compelled to share with you my thoughts stems from your outburst during the post-match comments shortly after TMFC's 2-0 defeat to Perlis in the opening group match of the Malaysia Cup last Saturday.

Your thinly-veiled broadside directed at former TMFC coach Irfan Bakti Abu Salim came as a surprise to many.

You mentioned that his training methods were outdated and that you have had to start from scratch during the two sessions ahead of the clash in Kangar.

I tend to agree with most of the coaches interviewed on national TV, especially RTM1, who believed that your outburst was unethical. You simply do not run down your contemporaries.

I'm sure you would agree with me if I say becoming a full-fledged coach is akin to an undergraduate pursuing his first degree. It could even be a life-long learning process.

Furthermore, as a respected pundit, I'm certain you also hold to the basic coaching principle that one coach's views may differ from another. One man's meat is another man's poison.

Remember how Frank Lord converted right-back Zainal Abidin Hassan into a much-vaunted striker in 1983?

There could have been backroom differences between you and Irfan but you chose the wrong platform to undermine his coaching credentials. Irfan, after all, has broken a barrier of sorts by becoming the first Malaysian football coach to ply his trade in Indonesia, helming Persipura Jayapura in West Papua, which happens to be nearer to Darwin than Jakarta.

True, Malaysian football coaches are far from world-class. But a majority of them possess the class not to undermine their fellow professionals in public.

I'm happy that a professional set-up like TMFC trust you implicitly to find the right successor to Irfan. I heard it's going to be our fellow Johorean, Wan Jamak Wan Hassan.

Irfan, if you may recall, happened to be Wan Jamak's assistant in the inaugural Tiger Cup in 1996. It is my sincere wish that whoever happens to replace Irfan has been keeping himself updated on the evolution of the game.

Whatever, Shebby, I hope you take the content of this letter in the right spirit. After all we come from the same town.

I look forward to discussing this further at the Kluang Railway Station over a plate of roti kahwin and a cup of freshly brewed home-made coffee.

Till next time.

Sincerely,

Rizal Hashim,

Jalan Dahlia, Kampung Melayu, Kluang.

TV3 interviewed Shebby’s team mate in the 1980s, Razip Ismail, last night, and he supported the former’s suggestion for Sathianathan to do away with senior players for the AFF Cup in December.

I beg to differ. I think Malaysia must always be represented by the best players, regardless of age. I have always been consistent in this, having debated countless times with Claude Le Roy, Ron Smith, Allan Harris, Bertalan Bicskei and Sathianathan too on this issue because I believe we do not have a large talent pool at our disposal. Players should be picked based on talent and current form, regardless whether he's an 18-year old chap or a 32-year old workhorse.

If we were to field a young squad for the regional tournament, chances are we would not go far. And this would be a ready-made excuse for the coaches because they would be singing this tune "we have a young team, it was a good experience for them".

Harris, a former coach of Espanyol and long-time assistant to Terry Venables, was fond of utilising under-age players for senior tournaments, citing it as building blocks for the future. He had a good team in 2002 when we beat Singapore 4-0 and Thailand 3-1 in the Tiger Cup but faltered in the semi-finals to the Indonesians.

Bicskei by contrast picked his players on current form. In the end we got mixed results. We have never reached the AFF Cup final since our runners-up finish in the inaugural tourney in 1996.

If Sathianathan takes a battle-hardened bunch for AFF Cup, then he will have to deliver. His KPI ultimately is the AFF Cup. Let him decide what’s best for the team and himself. Shebby can do his stuff from the studio! Or he can always coach MyTeam 3!

Ah, Penangites...

This is the tale of two Penangites - one an all-conquering squash star and the other a former athletics coach.

Both personalities will remember July 11, 2008 for a different reason. It has become a study in contrast, perhaps.

While Nicol Ann David was confirmed to be a recipient of the Darjah Setia Pahlawan Negeri which carries the title Datuk, from Penang Governor, Tun Abdul Rahman Abbas, C. Ramanathan, the man who helped produce Bionic Girl, Zaiton Othman, Rabia Abdul Salam and a host of others, was sentenced to jail earlier today.

Frankly speaking, it is premature to bestow Nicol the award. Why don't we wait until she retires? How many athletes were conferred the Datukship while still active? Why buck the trend now?

My point is, Nicol has already been richly rewarded in many terms. She will be remembered and history will judge her fairly, don't worry. Her place in the Hall of Fame is assured. The Datukship can wait.

If the idea is to rush to gain mileage out of all these, we should instead recognise the driving force behind Nicol, and certainly that individual or individuals are her parents.

Meanwhile

Athletics Coach Ramanathan Serves His 4 Years Jail From Today

PUTRAJAYA, July 11 (Bernama) -- Former national athletics coach C. Ramanathan started serving his four-year jail term Friday after the Court of Appeal here set aside his acquittal on charges of molesting two junior athletes aged 15 and 16.

Justice Datuk Zainun Ali, in allowing the prosecution's appeal, held that the Sessions Court judge was correct in convicting and sentencing Ramanathan, 72, on the two charges at the end of the defence case.

"We affirm the Sessions Court judge's decision. The High Court decision (acquittal) is set aside and the sentence is to run forthwith," said Zainun, who heard the appeal with justices Datuk Wira Abu Samah Nordin and Datuk Sulong Matjeraie.

Ramanathan, who looked worried, was then sent to the Kajang prison. Zainun, in the unanimous decision, ruled that the five-year delay in giving the written grounds of judgment was not a miscarriage of justice to Ramanathan as held by the High Court judge.

Ramanathan was sentenced by the Sessions Court in 1996 to four years jail each, to run concurrently, for using criminal force on two junior athletes aged 15 and 16 with intent to outrage their modesty at the Malaysian Amateur Bsketball Association building in Jalan Hang Tuah here between 9am and 10pm on Oct 23 and 27, 1992.

Zainun said the court's finding was based not only on the two questions raised, namely the five-year delay and the recording of the demeanour of witnesses by the Sessions Court judge, but also on the entire proceedings in the Sessions Court.

She said the five-year delay would not vitiate the entire proceedings.

"The trial judge had given her decision one month after the defence case ended, the written ground of judgment was only out nearly five years later. The decision had been given early but the grounds of judgment were delayed. The delay in the grounds of judgment was not miscarriage of justice," she said.

On the question of recording the demeanour of witnesses, she said it was not mandatory for the Sessions Court to do so.

She said the trial judge had given credit to the demeanour of the witnesses and was correct in applying the standard of proof as was acknowledged by the High Court judge.-- BERNAMA

R.I.P, Supermokh, 17 years on

When footballing legend Mokhtar Dahari passed away after succumbing to muscular dystrophy on July 11, 1991, exactly 17 yars ago, I was on the verge of joining the world of journalism, as a trainee of the NSTP Pre-Editorial Training Scheme (PETS).

It meant getting the daily supply of four newspapers under the NSTP stable. Harian Metro and the Malay Mail front-paged the news and tributes came pouring in the other papers which lasted for weeks.

To catch a glimpse of the great man was always my aim every Friday back when I was schooling in the heart of the city. Masjid Jamek was within walking distance from my alma mater and those days Mokhtar was working, playing and coaching for Talasco.

I watched numerous games involving Mokhtar at the Merdeka Stadium at the tailend of his career, thanks to my late dad, a football fan and a referee who had officiated Datuk Peter Velappan as a player.

Later on I got the opportunity to speak to people who were close to him apart from his family, his friends such as Datuk Soh Chin Aun, Reduan Abdullah, Bakri Ibni (pictured below with Supermokh's widow Tengku Datin Zarina Tengku Ibrahim), and journalists who had the good fortune of getting up, close and personal with Supermokh.



Only after I joined Berita Harian that I got to know the ghostwriter for the Supermokh column On Target in the New Straits Times was Dan Guen Chin or sifu to most of us. Datuk Fauzi Omar also had tons of anecdotes to share from his experience with Mokhtar.

When I spoke to former England supremo Bobby Robson in a teleconference ahead of the FAPL Cup in 2003, he remembered the 1978 trip he made with the England B side mainly due to Mokhtar's goal.

"Yes I do remember the 1978 trip. I had just lifted the FA Cup with Ipswich Town when the FA asked me to take the England B side to KualaLumpur.

"We drew 1-1, I can't recall how the match went exactly but it was held under conditions which we were not accustomed to. Your team scored a good goal."

The late Mansoor Rahman covered the match. Here's the excerpts of the report

"Mokhtar Dahari, Malaysia's soccer pride, stole the limelight from under the noses of England's second stringers its this friendly match at Merdeka Stadium last night.

"After Alan Kennedy had shot England into the lead in the 14th minute, Mokhtar carved out a stunning equaliser 18 minutes later, which had a packed crowd roaring with delight.

"Mokhtar made two more distinctly dangerous runs - both the second half - and a shot hit the post and dropped out of play.."

" ... At the other end, Mokhtar was enjoying some tremendous runs but was unfortunately not having the support he deserved from the other forwards.

"Then he decided to try a goal-grabbing feat on his own. He drove the English team to panic stations with a delightful display of dribbling, culminating with a goal, one of the best from this master striker.

"Mokhtar collected the ball right in midfield, and showing superb acceleration, weaved past Kennedy and David Needham to work his way to the top of the box.

"He then unleashed a shot which found the far corner of the net, leaving goalkeeper Joe Corrigan clawing at thin air.

"The English players were definitely dejected and Mokhtar threw his clenched fist three times in his characteristic manner as the others rushed to congratulate him.

"Even opposing team manager Bobby Robson, who managed Ipswich to their dramatic FA Cup triumph against Arsenal at Wembley earlier in the month, was thoroughly impressed.

"Robson said: `It is one of the best goals I have seen so far."

I met former Selangor defender Walter Biggs the other day. He said: "I could feel the earth moving when Mokhtar was in full flow. He would be more determined and inspiring if we were trailing."

K. Rajagobal said he would have goosebumps having to partner Mokhtar, whether it was for the Selangor team or the PKNS side then managed by Datuk Yap Nyim Keong.

"I used to be overawed by his sheer reputation but he made the junior ones like me feel at home."

Datuk Dina Rizal was fond of reminding me he was skipper and left flanker of the VI team with Mokhtar spearheading the attack. Mokhtar was already knocking on the doors of the Selangor Burnley Cup team then.

A family friend revealed one of the secrets of Mokhtar's prowess was horse meat.

"His whole family used to eat horse meat for meals."

His son Mohd Redza and I share the same alma mater.

There will never be another Mokhtar, a real thoroughbred of a man and the epitome of a marauding, powerful footballer. Al-Fatihah.

p.s The VI Old Boys Association held a special tahlil at the Al-Bohari mosque yesterday.

Bearing the flag

This attractive lady (above) is Hannah Beech. She reminded me of Liv Tyler when our paths crossed in the city steeped in tradition, Athens, in 2004.

A few steps outside the Olympic village, there was an area reserved for the Press to mingle with the athletes. She was busy jotting down notes. You see, Hannah was Time magazine Shanghai bureau chief at that time. The subject of her interview was our diver, Bryan Nickson Lomas (below) Reuters pic taken in Athens.



Hannah was not the only journalist who wanted a piece of Bryan. Everybody else wanted to - from Suddeutsche Zeitung to the foreign wires - for the Sarawakian lad was not only the youngest, smallest and lightest male competitor of the Athens Games, but he too was given the honour of being the Malaysian contingent's flagbearer.

Bryan remains a member of the select band of 11 personalities to be bestowed the honour.

Here's the full list since Malaya made their debut in Melbourne in 1956.

The Melbourne Games 1956 - Tan Kim Bee (weightlifting)

The Rome Games 1960 - Kuda Ditta (athletics)

The Tokyo Games 1964 - Shaharudin Mohd Ali (athletics) now Datuk

The Mexico Games 1968 - Nashatar Singh (athletics) now Datuk

The Munich Games 1972 - Ali Bakar (football)

The Montreal Games 1976 - Ishtiaq Mobarak (athletics)

The Los Angeles Games 1984 - Sabiamad Abdul Ahad (shooting)

The Seoul Games 1988 - Nordin Mohd Jadi (athletics)

The Barcelona Games 1992 - Razif Sidek (badminton)

The Atlanta Games 1996 - Nor Saiful Zaini Nasiruddin (hockey)

The Sydney Games 2000 - Mirnawan Nawawi (hockey)

The Athens Games 2004 - Bryan Nickson Lomas (diving)

I sent the following dispatch from Athens as a preview to the opening ceremony.

HE tips the scale at a mere 33kg but the moment diver Bryan Nickson Lomas carries the Jalur Gemilang during the march past at the Olympic Stadium in Maroussi on Friday (Saturday 2am, Malaysia), he will be among giants.

Barely 14, Bryan is set to join the select band of 11 Olympians to have carried the flag.

The Iban boy from Kuching is certainly the youngest, smallest and lightest of all, and only the second Sarawakian to lead the contingent out from the dugout, exactly 40 years after hurdler Kuda Ditta, a policeman from Miri, performed the honour in the Tokyo Games.

Success in terms of medals, however, eluded Bryan's illustrious predecessors, except for shuttler Mohd Razif Sidek, who partnered his younger sibling, Jalani to the bronze in Barcelona `92.

Almost four decades earlier, weightlifter Tan Kim Bee was accorded the honour of carrying the flag in Melbourne in 1956 when Malaysia, then Malaya, were first represented at the Games.

Although he did not mount the podium, the Melbourne experience helped Kim Bee become the first Malaysian to win a bronze medal in weightlifting at the Asian Games in Tokyo two years later.

Hurdler Ishtiaq Mobarak survived a horrific crash in 1970 and carried the flag in Montreal'76 where he became only the second Malaysian after Datuk Dr. M. Jegathesan to qualify for the semifinal in an Olympic event.

But the true flag man of the nation was Nashatar Singh, who was born in Punjab.

He was the national contingent's flagbearer in all major multi-sport festivals for 10 straight years.

The next day, this piece appeared in the Old Malay Mail.

FOR a moment in time early this morning, the eyes of the world were fixed on the Malaysian contingent as the Olympic family celebrated the homecoming of the Games.

Clad in beige-coloured Malay traditional dress, the baju Melayu Teluk Belanga Johor style (round neck collar fastened by one button) with yellow, red and blue motifs on the samping tied P. Ramlee style, the contingent marched past with a three-time Olympian and former National Scientist of the Year leading them out of the dug-out and the smallest, youngest and lightest male competitor of the Games as the flagbearer.

The spotlight, naturally, fell on Bryan Nickson Lomas. The 14-year-old became only the 11th flagbearer in Malaysian history,following in the footsteps of Tan Kim Bee (1956), Shaharuddin Mohd Ali(1960), Kuda Ditta (1964), Nashatar Singh (1968), Ali Bakar (1972),Ishtiaq Mobarak (1976), Sabiamad Abdul Ahad (1984), Nordin Mohd Jadi(1988), Razif Sidek (1992), Nor Saiful Zaini Nasiruddin (1996) and Mirnawan Nawawi (2000).

The contingent emerged from the dugout after Morocco and were represented by 11 athletes. The rest were swimmers Allen Ong, Saw Yi Khy, divers Leong Mun Yee and Gracie Junita Terry Pega, sprinter Nazmizan Muhammad and race walker YuanYufang, sailor Kevin Lim, women's badminton doubles Chin Ee Hui-Wong PeiTty and shooter Ricky Teh.

The remaining 13 were excused to prepare for their events starting today while Josiah Ng and Elaine Teo are scheduled to arrive next week.

The officials were headed by chef-de-mission Datuk Dr M Jegathesan, a three-time Olympian and the first ever Malaysian to advance to the semi-final of the Games. He was also a recipient of the National Science Award in 1995. One of the most admired sporting heroes in Malaysia, Dr Jegathesan completes a unique distinction in Athens, having been part of the Games as an athlete, medical doctor, deputy chef-de-mission and now the CDM.

Next Tuesday, the Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) Board will convene to deliberate on a few matters among which is the selection of the flagbearer. Could it be shuttler Lee Chong Wei, who has to perform the next day, cyclists Azizulhasni Awang or Josiah Ng, or taekwondo's Elaine Teo, or archery's Cheng Chu Sian or Marbawi Sulaiman? Or Bryan for a second time?