Rather then being upset by the statement made by former national skipper and assistant coach Nor Saiful Zaini, MHF President Tengku Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah was more disappointed that he had not made use of the proper channels to voice his opinion.
While respecting that Saiful was entitled to his opinion on matters with regards to how he perceived hockey in the country, Tengku Abdullah reminded Saiful that he too was part of the national team set-up for a whole year and could have used that period to correct any shortcomings within the national team.
"Yes I have read the statement made by Saiful and he is entitled to his opinion, which is personal and not reflective of any organisation," said Tengku Abdullah when met after witnessing the Negeri Sembilan and Kuala Lumpur match in Kuantan.
"He was part of the national team and should have corrected things if he felt so strongly about it but what has he done when he had the opportunity.
"Though they are his personal views, I have advocated an open door policy in MHF and be it Saiful or anyone else can bring proposals on how to improve our hockey standards to me directly. I am all ears if the ideas generated can help us boost our hockey standards.
"On the question of development, or rather the lack of it raised by Saiful, let me assure him that we have the plans in place and I shall reveal everything after our Council meeting this Saturday.
"We may not have achieved our desired improvement levels but who is there to deny that we have done well in some areas. I had made it clear that we need time to correct and improve things and we are on the right track."
