Where the Money Is

The Malaysian Hockey Federation, at its Council meeting after the AGM on October 31, decided to retain Nur Azmi Ahmad, the victorious Deputy President who retained his post at the elections, at the Chairman of the National Team Management Committee.

And true to form, as the Deputy President who is well known for ability to twist the facts and business acumen, has since created one mess after another in MHF.

It is learned that the National Assistant Coach, Nor Saiful Zaini has returned the cash incentive that was given by the MHF to the players/officials of the team that won silver at the recent Asian Games. Saiful, it is believed received a token sum, no where near the sum the other two coaches in the team received. And we salute Saiful for his stand in not accepting the money.

To determine the amount, it was the Deputy President who was responsible, and given the fact that he is the Chairman, it is only fair that he clarifies as to why Saiful has returned the cheque to MHF on December 16, the day of the Press Conference of the Charity Shield.

Fair enough Saiful was not with the team in China, but it was Saiful who trained and toiled with the rest of the coaches in Malaysia. Was the amount given reflective of Saiful's contributions to the team?

And that is not the only time that the Deputy President attempted to play god, for the national players were also short changed upon their return from the tournament in France that they won in August.

For every win, the President of MHF had set an incentive bonus of RM1,000 per player, but the Deputy President and another key administrative official reduced it to RM500, and told the President that the tournament was not sanctioned. The issue of sanction was then dispelled when a team official pointed out that the tournament was in the FIH calendar. But the players eventually received on RM500 per win, no thanks to the Deputy President.

Next we have the issue of Tai Beng Hai, the assistant coach who saw a reduction of his salary when Stephen van Huizen was roped in. Though NSC, the paymasters could only afford a certain budhet, they told MHF that the national body could assist by topping up the salary.

An appeal was made by Beng Hai, but even after the Asian Games, he received no reply on the matter, despite the National Team Management Committee having supposedly met in September.

So is there such a committee to deliberate on the matters or is it left to the whim and fancy of the Deputy President? Perhaps its time for the MHF President to take stock of the situation.

Next: Who represented MHC at the FIH meetings and do they have locus standi?

CONTRACT TERMINATED?

Word has it that the contractors initially awarded the turf job at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil have had their contract terminated and the job has now been awarded to the German turf, whose sales person is a former international that hails from Negeri Sembilan.

There was much hue and cry when the job was awarded earlier this year despite other companies providing better quality turfs and the work on the stadiums was stopped due to various reasons. And after a eight month delay, finally the contract has been terminated it seems.

Now it will be left to be seen if the Stadium Board will come clean on why the contract was terminated, what were the reasons for awarding it in the first place and what are the payments already made to the company and are there any penalties due.

CARE TO ANSWER, DEPUTY PRESIDENT?

After the Sukom 98 fiasco, we thought that it was the end of companies being formed to organize sports events in the country, as the accounts have yet to be closed.

But we were wrong, and although there is no conclusive evidence of any foul play of yet, another such an incident has resurfaced, where no accounts have been presented.

Let’s trace this back to 2009, and it was the first trans-border Junior Hockey World Cup to be organized, by Malaysia and Singapore.

In order to facilitate the organization, the International Hockey Federation required a joint Organising Committee, hence a private limited company was set-up under the auspices of the Malaysian Hockey Confederation and Singapore Hockey Federation.

And no prizes for guessing just who was given the task of forming this company with SHF, yes the one and only – the Deputy President.

Now the Junior Word Cup has come and gone, almost 18 months have since passed yet no accounts for the JWC have been tabled at any of the meetings of MHF or MHC. An attempt was made though in July 2009, but the then Secretary of Johor HA had attempted to present the accounts to MHF without any approval from his state body.

Now it gets more interesting as checks and conversations with officials involved in the JWC, from both sides of the causeway revealed that the said company has been dissolved and accounts closed. That is the plus factor but why have the accounts not been tabled at the MHC meetings nor the MHF council been informed about the profit or loss. Mind you the main sponsors forked out Singapore Dollars 250,000 for the JWC.

So lets see some transparency here Deputy President. I am sure the accounts are “clean” and we made no profit whatsoever from the JWC. So why the delay or refusal to table the report ?

HOW LOW CAN ONE GO?

The question is how low can one go? 

And the answer is really low if one takes the look at the behaviour of the Malaysian Hockey Federation Deputy President.

After having wielded his power on TNB to renege on the offer made to run the MHL website, the Deputy President has now gone on a crusade to get hockey fans/players/officials to remove the www.tnbmhl.com.my car stickers.

The fact that the Deputy President acted beyond his powers is there for all to see, but this injustice was not even corrected by the powers that be within MHF. S

The car stickers were provided to the public to help promote the website, to create awareness and we took the liberty to include the UNOFFICIAL tag on the stickers to ensure we were not guilty of false advertising.

So why fear us Deputy President when you told some members of the media that your OFFICIAL website will be up and running by December 29, which is two days away!

I have no beef with you, but if its war you want, then its war you will get as a New Year present.

Hush, MHF is sleeping

Time is making fools of MHF again.

Time was when we were a great hockey playing nation. Time was when we had competent officials who knew the value of time. Time was when we had proper tournaments which thrilled the nation.

Time was when the men who ran MHF truly cared.  That time is long past. These days, MHF officials only care when it is time for their own  needs or time for a drink. The clock has ticked down on the Malaysian hockey and they don't even know or care about it.  How else can one explain the total indifference to the need to reschedule the MHL matches from their ridiculous 3pm-5pm times. Would these officials even allow their children to play outdoors in the broiling late afternoon heat or even venture out themselves at these hours?

The only man who seems concerned, and rightly so, is MHF president Tengku Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah. He had, during the press conference of the 1Mas launch, made it clear that he was not supportive of the decision to play the MHL matches between 3-5pm. But, typically, nothing has happened.

The MHF officials were likely nodding off as usual when he made his speech. Not surprising really as MHF has been trapped in a time warp of incompetence and indifference for a long while. It looks as though time stopped for them at that glorious World Cup moment in 1975.

They now go through the motions without much thought to the welfare of the players and the game, never mind the fans. Little wonder that there are hardly any crowds at their matches. Who in his right mind would want to go watch a match at 3pm? And you wonder why the Malaysian game is in sleep mode. Time has changed. The way the game is played and administered has changed.

The Europeans and Aussies have understood that and corrected their watches to the new demands of the game but not the MHF who are trapped in a time warp of their own making. Talk about Malaysian Standard Time - that's decades behind the rest.

So we have slipped and slid down to number 14 in the rankings and playing in the second tier of the world game, still harking back to the good old days when the times were good when the fact of the matter is MHF simply haven't kept time. How pathetic. How tragic. What a waste of time.

How difficult is time management anyway? Why is it that MHF officials are so lackadaisical when it comes to other people's time? Do these officials even stir from their siestas to go watch a match at 3pm, families and fat butts permitting? Their not acting on the president's request even begs the question if he has any say in how the domestic competitions are run.

And this is not the first time this is happening.At the Tun Razak Cup in Kuantan in March, teams had complained about playing matches at 3pm, but the Tournament Director could not do anything as the fixtures were prepared by those from the hill (Bukit Jalil). It took a royal command (from the president) to fix the irrational fixtures.

But the indifferent response to his request this time is perplexing to say the least. It is not as though it will be difficult to reschedule the matches. The hockey venues are hardly fully utilised given the moribund state of the game. It does not need a genius to make the necessary changes, only sincere, concerned officials.

All it would take is to make a call to the Kuala Lumpur Hockey Association and move the 3pm and 7pm matches to 6pm and 8pm respectively, at the Tun Razak and KLHA Stadiums. Convenient for the players and the fans and good for the game.

If one were to study the fixtures, the Pantai pitch will only see action for four matches. Thus it is pertinent to note that the scheduling is drawn to suit for certain parties, like  TNB so that they do not have to spend extra on the A&P. No  thought was given to the fans, most of whom would be working at 3-5pm on Fridays.

Apart from the timing of matches there are several other niggling issues which should be addressed to reflect a more competently run competition.We have the issue of the name of teams, for example. KLHC is known as KL Hockey Club, and a check with the Sports Commissioners office confirms just that. Why then has the MHF listed them down as Kuala Lumpur Hockey Club when obviously they are not just that.

Add to that things like the banners/boards which are of poor value to the sponsors as the they are hardly visible on TV. Given that there are hardly any people at the stadium this means the sponsors are hardly getting anything for their investment. It all points to a poorly conceived and executed competition which reflects poorly on the MHF, as if they care.

Time is the fire in which Malaysian hockey burns, literally. And the officials, they  slumber in the shade and comfort of their indifference.

Tick tock, tick tock...

LEARN FROM INDIA, MHF

We have organised the MHL since 1987, and this is the 21st edition. But as usual it is littered with poor planning and inconsistent decisions, with the sponsors team getting the extra benefits it seems. Look at what happened to Japan. They came and learnt from us in football and the J-League is thriving, cos they never make mistakes like we do.

So MHF, please read the rival league that will one day make yours seem like a Sunday picnic.

The Indian hockey team may be going through a low following their heart-breaking loss to Malaysia in the Asian Games in Guangzhou recently, but the sport itself is set for a huge boost at home. Indian hockey is set to get a lavish dose of glamour, much like the Indian Premier League did to cricket.

Hockey, in fact, was the first to woo fans through an interesting city-based league format, through the Premier Hockey League (PHL), which thrilled fans across various cities in India from 2005 to 2008. However, it could not sustain itself and soon lost steam. It's time for a comeback now and TOI has reliably learnt of a much bigger and more expensive annual league that could be launched in the second half of 2011.

A leading television network, which also holds the rights to broadcast Indian cricket, has joined hands with the Indian Hockey Federation (IHF) to help organize and promote the league, which will have as many as ten teams. The budget for each year is said to be running in several crores. Hockey won't be cricket's poor cousin, after all and could warm the fans' hearts during the chilly winters.

"It's a mega project and they have already signed a host of players. It's a great boost for not just us Indian players, but foreigners as well," informed a player, who recently signed a contract for the same.

Sources informed that as many as 50 Indian players have been roped in and those in the top bracket could well be receiving Rs 10 lakhs per year. "Some of these players have already been paid a signing amount of Rs 1 lakh each," he revealed.

The league will be played on a home and away basis under lights across several cities in India and televised live. Almost everything is on lines of PHL except there are more teams in fray this time.

Foreign players have shown their willingness to be a part of the league and the likes of Australian Jamie Dwyer and Argentinian Jorge Lombi are expected to join in. There is no word though on the inclusion of players from Pakistan.

The organizers, however, seem to be finding it difficult to get former Indian captain Viren Rasquinha on board as he is now a part of the Olympic Gold Quest and as such cannot take part.

"You can be sure of a cracking show and almost all players from each hockey playing nation have shown a willingness to be a part of this league," one in the know of things added. Time then for Indian hockey to enter a league of its own.

YEAR IN REVIEW

Eventful as always and exhilarating throughout, competitive hockey coursed through an incandescent phase and into history, engulfing the enthusiasts in an emotional melange.

Two World Championships and an equal number of Champion Trophy tournaments, the Commonwealth Games, the Asian Games, the Youth Olympics and a plethora of internationals across the globe give the 2010 season a euphoric aura.

Sifting through this panorama to identify the high points of the year is not easy. Suffice to say the material available is stupendous by any yardstick. On reflection, it can be said without any fear of contradiction that 2010 was a year to remember for the Australian men and Argentine women.

Quite understandably, the man of the year award, if there is one, should indisputably go to the Aussie stalwart, Ric Charlesworth. The Australian Institute of Sports in Perth only honoured itself by conferring that title on the Champion coach, who guided the Aussies to a glorious treble — the World Cup (Delhi), Champions Trophy (Monchengladbach) and Commonwealth Games (Delhi). Incidentally, Australia's victory in the Commonwealth Games was its third gold in succession.

Blessed as Charlesworth was with the depth and diversity of talent — the players were spotted, nurtured and groomed for the big occasions — the achievements of the Australian men in 2010 stand apart. They showed the intensity of professionalism, the importance of dedication and the determination to succeed at all costs. In this, the Aussies were chiefly guided by the craft, class and consistency of the incomparable all-rounder, Jamie Dwyer, who deservedly claimed the FIH's Best Player of the Year Award for 2010.

It must also be acknowledged that Dwyer in his endeavour was supported well by Luke Doerner, Desmond Abbott, Glenn Turner, Christopher Ciriello and, of course, goalkeeper, Nathan Burges.

There was no team either in Europe or Asia that could match Australia. The team's dominance is better illustrated by six victories in a row in the Champions Trophy in Monchengladbach.

On the distaff side, Argentina held the centre stage. Brushing aside the challenge of the traditional powerhouse, the Netherlands, Argentina claimed the Champions Trophy in Nottingham. It then proved its calibre by beating the same Dutch side in the final of the World Cup in Rosario. The star of Argentina was the glamorous Luciana Aiymar, who was declared the Player of the Year again by the FIH.

Hockey in Asia had a mixture of good, bad and ugly — ugly especially involving the administrations in India and Pakistan.

Despite its four successive defeats against India during the year, Pakistan salvaged a lot of its pride by regaining the Asian Games gold medal in Guangzhou. The return of Sohail Abbas proved a blessing for Pakistan as much as the gains it had from the coaching of the Dutchman, Michel van Heuven.

Murky scenes and court hearings notwithstanding, India had a reasonably good year, winning the silver medal in the Commonwealth Games, the bronze in the Asian Games and sharing the trophy with South Korea in the Azlan Shah tournament.

True, these achievements did nothing to enhance the profile of the national team but they definitely indicated the improvement made under the Spanish coach, Jose Brasa.

Constantly hunted and humiliated, Brasa bore everything that the officialdom hurled at him with equanimity. He was bent on showing some results. The fact that he never had anything his way was more than clear to everybody. Yet, he worked sincerely. It is a pity that the Spaniard went back without fulfilling his goal.

Sandeep Singh, who slammed 11 goals in the Asian Games, and Rani Ramphal, whose tally of eight goals in the World Cup earned her a nomination for the Young Player of the Year Award, dominated the scoring.

Bedevilled by one controversy or the other, the Indian hockey administration suffered a serious confidence crisis. It got caught in the crossfire between the Sports Ministry and the Indian Olympic Association on too many issues. That the FIH added to the confusion cannot go unsaid.

As if these weren't enough, there was the abominable charge against the seasoned coach, M. L. Kasushik, who was accused of misbehaving with some of the players in the women's team. The episode needs no detailed introspection and should be dismissed as unholy and unwarranted.

Following this incident, Sandeep Somesh was put in charge of the women's team. With little time to comprehend what he had inherited, Sandeep had to wade through many uncertainties.

If India failed to retain the bronze medal in Guangzhou after claiming one in the first ever Asian Champions Trophy in Seoul, Sandeep should be the last man to be blamed.

As another season is set to dawn, it goes without saying that a lot of thinking needs be done while reorganising the men's and women's teams. The coaching staff too needs to be restructured.

 

Whoever eventually comes to clean the stables has a stupendous task on his hands

Not good for Asia, but good for World

Last week when the Asian All Stars team was announced, Sardar Singh (24) was disappointed that even after putting up a good show this year his name didn't figure among the four Indian players, who were named in the continental team. 

But the international hockey federation (FIH) did not let his performance go unnoticed and named him in the 2010 World All Stars team on Saturday.

He is the lone Indian in the men's team, while Shahbad's Rani Rampal is the only Indian face in the women's team. Rani (16) was also named in the Asian All Stars team an was declared the best young player in the World Cup held in Argentina in October.

"When I came to know my name was not among the four Indians picked in the Asian All Stars team, I was disappointed. Keeping in mind my performance, I should have got a place in the continental team. But I am happy that I got a place in the World All Stars team and it's a big motivation," said Sardar.  

Sardar gave a commanding performance in both the Commonwealth and Asian Games. This year he bagged the 'player of the tournament' award in the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup and the 'man of the series' in the seven-match Teat series against Canada. He was also named 'player of the tournament' in the Champions Challenge Cup where India won bronze.

Sardar has registered all his best performances in the past one year as a defender; he used to play as a forward, it was after coach Jose Brasa's advice that he switched to deep defense.

SHEER WASTE OF TIME & MONEY

The first meeting of the Malaysian Hockey Federation Coaching Committee, scheduled for this morning (Saturday - 18 December) had to be called off as the Chairman, Manjit Majid Abdullah did not turn up. Manjit who was elected as the Vice President of the MHF at the elections on October 31 was later appointed as Chairman of this committee at the Management Committee and Council meeting held on the same day.

In his place, the Deputy President of MHF, Nur Azmi Ahmad had attempted to chair the meeting but it was rejected by the representatives of affiliates present as he had no locus standi. Also not present were the MHF Secretary/General Manager Maninderjit Singh and his Assistant Secretary Hashim Mohd Yusof.

The members present also rejected claims by R.Vivekananda who said that he was the appointed Secretary of the Committee as no such mandate was available to Manjit and this was the first meeting, hence the appointment of the Secretary and eight members to sit on the committee was to be decided today.

It is indeed a shame that members were not informed earlier on the non availability of Manjit to chair the meeting as most of them had to travel and take time off to come to Kuala Lumpur. Among those who were there were representatives from Sabah and Sarawak and this was one costly postponed meeting.

MALAYSIA GAIN PROMOTION TO CHAMPIONS CHALLENGE I

Either the Malaysian Hockey Federation are totally unaware or their dissemination of information needs to be improved.

In fact, the Chairman of the National Team Management Committee has misled the President of MHF as at a Press Conference on Monday, he informed the President that Malaysia is playing the Champions Challenge in France in July next year.

But a check with the FIH website has revealed something else. With the promotion of Pakistan and South Korea into the Champions Trophy, Malaysia has gained as they will now play in the Champions Challenge I instead of Champions Challenge II as they were initially supposed to play in.

Also gaining automatic promotion was Japan. The Champions Challenge I is scheduled to be held a week before the Champions Trophy.

The 2011 Champions Trophy will be held in India in either November or December.

Please read the FIH Press Release below:

The International Hockey Federation (FIH) can confirm the line-ups for the men’s and women’s Champions Trophy and Challenge tournaments that will take place at various locations around the world in 2011. 

The Men’s FIH Champions Trophy features outright qualifiers Australia, England, Germany, The Netherlands, Spain and host nation India, with two additional teams being invited to take part in the exciting new eight-team event that will take place on dates to be confirmed in November / December 2011.

The invitational places – which were approved by the FIH Executive Board – have been handed to Korea, who are currently ranked sixth in the ABN AMRO World Rankings, and to 8th ranked Pakistan, who recently made a notable return to form by winning Gold at the 2010 Asian Games, thereby ensuring their right to participate London 2012 Olympics. 

The Women’s FIH Champions Trophy will also include eight teams, with China and New Zealand joining Argentina, Germany, England, Australia, Korea and The Netherlands, who are the hosts of the tournament. 

In what is a busy calendar year for international hockey, 2011 will also feature the Men’s and Women’s FIH Champions Challenge I and II events.

The Men’s FIH Champions Challenge I will be in Johannesburg, South Africa, with the event taking place around one week before the Men’s Champions Trophy. These dates will be confirmed in due course. The other qualified teams for the tournament are Argentina, Belgium, Canada, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand and Poland.

The Men’s FIH Champions Challenge II will be in Lille between the 3rd and 9th of July 2011, with Austria, China, Czech Republic, Ireland, Russia, Scotland, USA and host nation France doing battle for the tournament.

The Women’s FIH Champions Challenge I will be played in Dublin between the 18th and 26th June with the teams involved being Azerbaijan, India, Japan, Scotland, South Africa, Spain and the United States joining hosts Ireland.

The Women's FIH Champions Challenge II will break new ground, with Austria hosting its first World Level outdoor hockey tournament, although the Austrian Hockey Association are no strangers to running top level events, having successfully hosted the 2007 FIH Indoor World Cup and many continental tournaments. Joining them between the 7th and 15th May will be Belarus, Belgium, Canada, Chile, Italy, Malaysia and Russia.

2011 will also feature the Men's and Women's FIH Indoor World Cups, which take place in the Polish city of Poznan between the 8th and 13th February. More information about this event can be found at http://www.fih.ch/.

INVESTIGATIONS COMPLETED, SAYS MALAY MAIL

Police recorded statements yesterday from all the senior students who allegedly assaulted five juniors at the Bukit Jalil Sports School (BJSS) here earlier this week.

"Besides the senior students involved, we also recorded statements from several witnesses who were at the scene during the alleged assault," said Cheras deputy police chief, Supt Abdul Rahim Hamzah Othman.

"Our investigation papers will be forwarded to the deputy public prosecutor (DPP) on Monday for further action."

When asked whether statements were also recorded from BJSS officials and a coach said to have instigated the assault, Abdul Rahim declined comment.

On Tuesday, 10 senior students were said to have assaulted the five juniors with hockey sticks and a rubber hose in a dorm room, resulting in the younger players sustaining bruises.

The victims — Athitsha Tamilchelvam, Zizi Azwan Harun Basri, Muhd Fitri Jasni, Hashim Harun and Ahmad Ashraf Alias, all aged 15 — were later taken by their parents to Hospital Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (HUKM) for treatment.

The parents then lodged reports with the Sungai Besi police station.

The assault allegedly took place twice after the five juniors returned from training at the National Sports Council (NSC) field on Tuesday.

The boys' parents claimed the seniors were instigated by a BJSS coach who was unhappy with the younger players training outside of BJSS.

When approached by The Malay Mail on Tuesday, the coach who allegedly sparked off the assault, said: "It's just a fight between school kids."

BJSS principal Marina Chin had declined to disclose what action had been taken by the school against the alleged culprits.

MORE REPORTS LODGED

In the aftermath of the assault on the five junior players of the Bukit Jalil Sports School by their seven seniors on Tuesday, another three police reports are said to have been lodged in the wee hours of Wednesday.

One of the reports was lodged by two of the alleged assailants who claim that they were slapped by one of the parents of the five junior players.

The second report, it is learnt, was lodged by the school authorities on the conduct and intrusion by the same parent while the third report was by the coach who stated that the report was lodged as he feared for his safety.

On Tuesday, one of the five players lodged a report against seven of his seniors, who incidentally were questioned by the police when they went to lodge their reports.

With continued silence from the school authorities and the Ministry of Education, it has been difficult to gain more information, but it is believed that all the students involved have been sent home for 10 days pending investigations.

BASHED FOR NO REASON

Following the disclosure of the assault on the five Bukit Jalil Sports School junior players by their seniors, a press conference was held this morning where copies of the police report were distributed. More on that later as see the pictures below to make your conclusions before facts are deliberated. Suffice to say another police report was lodged at 5.00am this morning on the same incident. More later...

Read The Malay Mail reports below....

by: K. Rajan &Deborah Chow

KUALA LUMPUR: They were only doing what they loved best — playing hockey.

But for that, five students of the Bukit Jalil Sports School (BJSS) were assaulted, allegedly by their own seniors yesterday.

The boys' parents claimed that the senior players were instigated by a BJSS coach, who was not happy with the younger players training outside of BJSS.

The assault allegedly took place twice after the five returned from a training session at National Sports Council (NSC) field yesterday.

Around 10 seniors were said to have assaulted the boys with hockey sticks and rubber hose in a dorm room, resulting in the younger players sustaining several bruises.

The victims — Athitsha Tamilchelvam, Zizi Azwan Harun Basri, Muhd Fitri Jasni, Hashim Harun and Ahmad Ashraf Alias, all 15, were later taken to Hospital Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (HUKM) for treatment by their parents, who later lodged a report at the Sungai Besi police station.

Speaking during a Press conference at the Pantai Hockey Stadium this morning, S. Tamilchelvam, whose son was allegedly one of the victims, claimed the attacks were instigated by a BJSS hockey coach.

"We want the coach to be taken out of the school. This is the third time we've had problems with the coach.

"He had previously threatened the junior players," the distraught father claimed.

Tamilchelvam claimed he was informed of the coach's supposed involvement by some of the attackers known to the father.

"The boys who attacked my son are not bad boys. I cannot accept the fact that these boys I know well could hurt my son."

Tamilchelvam called for strict action by the relevant authorities against all parties involved in the incident.

Meanwhile, Ahmad Ashraf's father, Alias Desa, claimed that BJSS teachers were not aware of the beatings until he talked to one them.

He alleged: "I was shocked to see the condition of the beaten-up boys. Some of them were shivering and could not even walk properly due to the beating.

"The boys were too shaken up to inform us of the beating. We were notified about the incident by one of the Fifth formers, who called Tamilchelvam. If we, the parents, had not gone to the school, our sons might not have received treatment as the teachers were not aware of the incident."

Bukit Jalil Sports School (BJSS) principal Marina Chin (pic) brushed off public intrusion over the assault of five students from the school.
"This is an internal issue and should not concern (the public) especially the Press," Chin told The Malay Mail today. "We are in the process (of looking into the matter) and have taken the necessary action."
Chin, however, declined to elaborate on the type of action taken by the school on the alleged culprits.
When asked about the allegations by one of the victim's parent that a BJSS coach was responsible for ordering the assault to be carried out, Chin replied: "I have no comment on that. Let's just leave it until investigations have been done. There is already a police report. The parent can report anything to the Press or the police but he'd better have proof of what he's saying."
When approached by The Paper That Cares yesterday, the coach who allegedly sparked off the assault brushed the incident off saying that it was "just a fight between school kids".
A blog post on malaysianhockey.blogspot.com yesterday reported five BJSS hockey players who represented Kuala Lumpur in the National Under-16 Tournament were beaten up by their seniors with hockey sticks.
The incident occurred after the five, all under 16, returned from a training session at the KLHA stadium alongside the KL Hockey Club team.
Around 10 seniors, according to the blog, did not like this and took matters into their own hands.
The blog reported that "the school is expected to come down hard on the said culprits and the players also could face expulsion for their action and that this incident may cause BJSS to pull out from the Malaysian Hockey League 2010".
BJSS Sports Senior Assistant Kon Chen Choong and the Student Affairs Senior Assistant Suhaimi Sun Abdullah declined comment.




One of the Bukit Jalil Sports School (BJSS) trainees, Muhd Fitri Jasni, recalled the horror of being beaten up twice by his seniors.
"It all started after we finished our training at the National Sports Council (NSC) field. Our batch was called by one of our seniors to a room around 9am," said the Form Three student.
"As soon we stepped into the room, I was punched in the stomach by a senior and the five of us were their main targets. Ahmad Asyraf Alias and I received most of the beating. We were punched, kicked, stepped on and hit with a rubber hose and hockey sticks in the back, thighs and legs," he claimed, adding that the beating went on for an hour.
"We were spared at 10am as we had a scheduled meeting with a teacher. We were afraid to reveal the beating to the teacher as we knew that we needed to return to the hostel eventually."
He claimed that upon returning, the beating resumed. They were eventually let go around 1.30pm yesterday as they had a match the following day.
It was alleged that the five Form Three students were assaulted by their senior under the orders of the BJSS hockey head coach. The coach, it was alleged, was not happy that the five had joining the training session with the Kuala Lumpur Hockey association.
The boys' parents had claimed that the boys had received the consent from BJSS principal Marina Chin to train on their own during the school break and on weekends.

FIVE KL PLAYERS ASSAULTED

Five students of the Bukit Jalil Sports School, who represented Kuala Lumpur at the National Under 16 Tournament in Sandakan earlier this year were assaulted by senior students at the school on Tuesday morning.

And the parents of the five have since lodged a police report on the incident and are said to have called for a press conference, scheduled for 10.00am Tuesday at the KLHA Stadium in Panati.

The alleged assault was said to have taken place the morning after the players returned from a training session at the KLHA Stadium. The players, who do not represent any team in the ongoing MHL, were at the stadium and trained alongside the KL Hockey Club team that was preparing for the MHL that commences this Friday.

It is alleged that this did not go down well with the senior players and as ar esult around ten of them, with some just observers, took law into their own hands as the beat the five players with hockey sticks. 

And matters came to the boils as several parents headed to BJSS seeking answers as to why their kids were assaulted.

Reports coming out from BJSS tonight are said to be centered around identifying that players involved, but that should not be difficult as its school holidays and only selected players are in the sports school to represent various sports in events, amongst which is hockey as the team plays in the Division One of the MHL.

The school is expected to come down hard on the said culprits and the players also could face expulsion for their action.

And this could result in SSBJ having to pull out of the MHL.

There was no necessity to take law into their own hands and the incident, if true, is a tragedy for the school who provided six players of the silver medal winning squad at the Asian Games recently.

MERGER SOON?

The Malaysian Hockey Federation (MHF) and the Malaysian Women's Hockey Association (MWHA) are set to merge soon. But no one, not even the president of MHF Tengku Abdullah Sulatn Ahmad Shah was prepared to let the cat out of the bag.

The International Hockey Federation (FIH) had made it a pre-requisite for national associations to have only one hockey governing body. And in Malaysia, the powers that be, during that period, found a easy exit by forming the Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC), a body that exists in name only but yields no power on matters concerning hockey in the country.

During the Malaysian Games in June, a discussion was held when the MHC met and it is believed that there was opposition from the part of MWHA on the official merger.Their resistance stemmed from the fact that the women officials will lose their seats and in the process the decision making process for women's hockey besides the autonomy they currently enjoy.

"We are in the midst of having some discussions onnthis matter and all will be revealed in due course," said Tengku Abdullah after the launch of the 1Mas Development program, which ironically will not see any girl hockey players being provided the opportunity to undergo systematic training at a young age.

And contrary to the claim by Johor Hockey Association that they were the first hockey body in the country to merge, it is Kuala Lumpur Hockey Association that hold the distinction as they changed their constitution in1992.

Penang Hockey Association followed suit in 2000 and Johor is the third state to have merged the two hockey bodies in the state.

MIRNAWAN'S MUM LOSES BATTLE WITH ILLNESS

Hajah Katemi Haji Jemangin, the mother of former international Mirnawan Nawawi passed away peacefully at the General Hospital Malacca at 5.30pm today after a two month battle with illness. She was 63 years old.

It is indeed a tragic loss for Mirnawan and Uncle Nawawi as she always made it a point to watch Mirnawan in action when she was in better health. Not only did she give us Mirnawan, but also the likes of Mirhardy who also was a skillful player in his youth days.

As we bid goodbye to "the mother of hockey" we wish to offer our condolences to the entire Nawawi family for the loss of their beloved and pray that god will give them strength in their moment of grief.

The funeral will be held at 9.30am on Tuesday at the Tanah Perkuburan Islam, Bukit Cina.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT , AM WATCHING YOU

Since my last post with regards to the MHL website, the phone has been ringing non stop. There will be efforts by some of those closely linked to the MHF Deputy President to discredit me vi aphone or posting in other blogs. That they are free to do as they are not capable of signing off with ther real name.

The PR man in question is a friend of mine and I rather not drag his name through the mud as he was being misled by the Deputy President in the first place. He has since clarified matters with me and made it clear that he was not told the truth with regards to the double dealing that happened.

Let's go through this issue from the top, and that goes back to July this year where there was a joint meeting between MHF and TNB. A request was made by TNB and accepted by MHF that a dedicated website be put up for the MHL, akin to the Azlan Shah Cup.

I was approached by the then MHF General Manager in late July and once again on August 9 on the matter and requested to put up a proposal which I subsequently did. And on September 23 the details were finalised and a letter was to be issued by MHF. In the meantime I went on to purchase the URL and started making arrangements to construct the website.

However, once again the GM failed to get back to me and the Unofficial Website, www.tnbmhl.com.my went up late November. I was then approached by the Assistant Secretary and following which held a meeting with the General Manager/Secretary in Bangsar on 3rd December where I was informed that certain MHF officials were against the idea of securing my services to run the website.

The next day I was once again asked if I was keen to change the website to official status, and my reply to the GM/Sec was that I had not made a decision. Several email were exchanged on the matter the next two days.

It was on Wednesday, Dec 8 that I met the GM/Sec and a decision was made that TNB will deal with me directly on the matter of the website due to the issues within MHF and to safeguard the GM/Sec on this issue. A meeting with the TNB representatives was then held in Kilat Club and decisions were made.

In the meantime the Deputy President went ahead and engaged the services of another company to handle a website that had yet to be developed. And a presentation was done by the said company to the GM/Sec.

It was on Thursday that a formal meeting was held at TNB and it was decided that TNB will deal directly with an agency to provide services for the website. But then all hell broke loose as the double dealing became apparent.

The Deputy President, who has no locus standi, for nor is he the Competitions Committee Chairman, nor the Finance Committee Chairman nor the Media Committee Chairman, went and made a call to TNB not to award the website job to me. Now the question that he has to answer if he is right what was the basis of his decision, which committee decided on it and who is he to direct TNB to rescind the decision made at a formal meeting, notes of which are made available to me?

 

He made it sound so good that the name of the NSC Director General was also mentioned as to why I was not to be awarded the job, and a quick SMS to the NSC DG got me this reply " I have never spoken to Azmi about you. I have never spoken to anybody from TNB either"

If calling a spade a spade has riled you up, then please bear in mind Deputy President that you are the same person who used to stand outside my office when you played for my club and begged for RM10 to eat. And what about this I hear about some pitch deal?

No, I have no intention to beg you for this job, go ahead and award it to who you want but bear in mind that all your misdeeds will be under close scrutiny, including the China Gate affair of 2006.

I bear no ill feelings towards the GM/Sec or the Asst Secretary, whom I believed were acting in good faith, for the interest of hockey in the country. It is people like the Deputy President who give hockey, and in the process the President Tengku Abdullah Sulatn Ahmad Shah a bad name.

And yes Deputy President, you told someone that you want to award me the Azlan Shah Cup media job, well take it and shove it up yours for all I care, I am watching you every step of the way.

MALACCA CHAMPS IN SANT BABA SOHAN SINGH JI UNDER 21 TOURNAMENT

 

 

Hosts Malacca emerged as champions for the inaugural Sant Baba Sohan Singh Ji Under 21 Tournament held at the Bukit Serindit Hockey Stadium in Malacca on Saturday.

In the final, Malacca almost blew their chances as they led twice in regulation time but ended up drawing 2-2 and in the ensuing penalty stroke competition, Major Inderjit Singh scored the decisive flick in sudden death to give Malacca a 6-5 win. Singapore Khalsa finished third in the four team event as Seremban failed to show up.

OF CORRUPT OFFICIALS AND UNETHICAL PR MAN AND TV PRESENTER

This blog will reveal the manner in which the Deputy President of MHF, together with a PR man and a tv journalist 'hijacked' the idea of the MHL website, even to the extent of making calls to TNB and arm twist them. Now the truth shall be revealed how selected officials within MHF are in hockey to serve themselves and not the sport. This is why I started the Unofficial MHF Website. And to the PR man and the tv journo, please remember that the site is copyright protected so lifting even a line could land you in a heap of trouble.

More on this matter later today.....

PARGAT TAKES CHARGE

Former India captain and a stern critic of Hockey India, Pargat Singh was appointed chairman of the development committee of HI on Saturday.

The decision was taken at a governing council meeting of HI, which was also attended by Pargat among other office bearers.

Pargat will head a five to seven member committee, which is expected to be in place by December 14 when the HI officials will meet again.

HI secretary general Narinder Batra said that Pargat was chosen for the job considering his vast experience and knowledge about the game.

"In today's meeting we discussed many issues. We formed a development committee and named Pargat as its chairman as he is best suited for the job," Batra said.

"The committee will have like-minded five to seven members, both men and women, who will work together for the development of Indian hockey," he said.

The HI secretary also said that the issue of national team coaches and support staff was also broadly discussed in Saturday's meeting and the newly-formed development committee has been authorised to take a call on the matter.

Asked whether national coach Harendra Singh's resignation was discussed in the meeting, Batra said, "Each and everything was discussed but broadly. We only formed a base today.

"I have been asked to personally to talk to everyone, including Harendra. But the committee will be evaluating all the candidates in fray and give their suggestion, which I will take it to Sports Authority of India."

Incidentally, the manner and circumstances under which Harendra had resigned after India lost to Malaysia in the semifinals of Asian Games has not gone down well with some members of the federation.

The senior men's hockey team is without a coach after the Asian Games where they won the bronze medal. While national coach Harendra had tendered his resignation immediately after India's shocking 3-4 defeat at the hands Malaysia, chief coach Brasa's contract has expired.

Four other team officials - Pradeep Datta (trainer), Shrikant (physio), Clarence Lobo (goalkeeping coach) and SK Naik (team doctor) - were also reported to have jointly resigned from their respective posts.

Batra also hinted at a possible reshuffle in the management of both the men's and women's team.

"We obviously have to re-organise the entire set up because their tenure has ended with the Asian Games. But we will see whom to retain and whom not," Batra said.

"We have to look for best arrangement, we have to look for people who can gel with the team because we hardly have any time in our hand for the Olympic qualifiers. We have to make a roadmap," he added.

Foreign coaches have always had a tumultuous association with Indian hockey but Batra did not rule out the possibility of an overseas candidate taking over the reigns of the team once again.

"If there is a good candidate who can adjust with the players, who can adjust with the Indian system, he or she is welcome because our main aim is to be among the top four hockey playing nations by 2014," he said.

INAUGURAL SANT BABA SOHAN SINGH JI UNDER 21 TOURNAMENT

If you are in Malacca for the weekend and have some spare time on your hands, then please head out to the Bukit Serindit Hockey Stadium.

The above tournament that will be held at the Bukit Serendit Hockey Stadium in Malacca on Dec 11 will see teams from Malacca , Singapore , Batu Pahat, Ipoh , Klang and Seremban participating.

Only Sikh players, with names ending with Singh are eligible to participate and it is hoped that the organisation of such a tournament will revive interest amongst Sikh youths to participate in a sport that they once dominated. 

 

The organizing committee has extended an open invitation to those in the hockey fraternity to watch the tournament.

ALMOST A CLEAN SWEEP BY KLHA

In the past, Kuala Lumpur were accused of pinching players from other states. But their effort in grooming youngsters seem to have paid dividends when looking at what the Kuala Lumpur Hockey Association has achieved in 2010.

With the exception of the girls, KLHA swept almost all there was to win, as far as titles in Malaysian hockey are concerned.

In a simple but meaningful ceremony, the Under 16 girls, Under 14 boys as well as the Under 14 Indoor squads received certficates from KLHA as well as cash contributed by KLHA president George Koshy.

"It was indeed an eventful year and I am happy for the players as well as the association. All of this is due to hard work put in by the players and coaches and we at KLHA are grateful to many for their contributions," said George.

"The key is being consistent and after winning the bulk of the titles this year, we need to focus towards winning those we missed out on next year. The bigger challenge lies ahead though as defending titles are not easy."

They started by bagging the Under 16 tournament in Sandakan in March and followed up that by winning the Razak Cup in Kuantan two weeks later.

Next was the National Indoor Championships in Ipoh, which was preceded by the Sukma title in Malacca in June.

Their title winning feats continued as they bagged the National Under 16 Indoor tournament in November that was followed up by winning the Under 14 championships in Penang last month.

And that was not all for they bagged the Under 18 and Under 12 MSSM titles earlier this year.

From the girl's perspective, KL won the Under 23 title but were knocked out at Sukma. However their Under 16 team emerged as runners up in the tournament held in Kuala Terengganu last week, a tournament that they can consider themselves as unofficial champs since MWHA allowed the cream of the girls players, in the likes of the Bandar Penawar Sports School to participate.

In MSSM, the girls suffered mixed fortunes as the Under 18 squad lost in the final but their Under 12 team emerged champions.

Credit must go to the officials, coaches as well as parents within the KLHA set up as they have proven that with hard work and forging good relationships, the sport will eventually be the winner.

And that is not taking into account the Malaysian Hockey League where KL Hockey Club won the league title and Tenaga Nasional bagging the overall, ironically both of whom are KLHA affiliates.

MHF DO NOT NEED DEVELOPMENT

The MHF Competitions Committee met for the first time last Saturday, the first committee to do so after the MHF elections on October 31 and Management Committee meeting that was held on November 27, where the media were not invited.

But the Committee, which was left out of the planning for the MHL. made a serious blunder in deciding the composition of members for the committee, which was limited to eight, in line with the constitutional changes.

The states picked as members of the committee were Penang, Kedah, Kuala Lumpur, Johor, Pahang, Negeri Sembilan with the other two spots being shared by ATM/PDRM as well as Sabah/Sarawak on rotation.

Picking states such as Johor and Pahang is downright ridiculous as they do not hold domestic leagues and those spots rightfully should be going to Malacca and Selangor.

But the calendar for the year 2011 is what is most baffling as MHF does not care for those who will be in SPM/PMR examinations, having slotted the Under 21 and Razak Cup in September. And that too within a week of each other.

From what this blog gathered, the following are the dates and venues of the domestic tournaments for 2011.

Under 16 - 11 to 21 March 2011 - Kuala Lumpur

Under 21 - 4 to 11 September 2011 - Malacca

Razak Cup - 18-25 September 2011 - Kuantan

Under 14 - 20-27 November 2011 - Terengganu

Veterans - 1-4 December - Kedah

NEW MHF? NOTHING NEW...

After the elections of the Malaysian Hockey Federation on October 31, many said that the winds of change will be for the better for Malaysian hockey.

But it proved to be wishful thinking as recently proved at the National Under 14 Championships in Penang.

The tournament has been in existence for the past five years yet the MHF could not provide a challenge trophy.

And what was more disappointing was that Pahang, the home state of the President of MHF could not name 16 players for the tournament, as they only had 14 players representing them. So much for talking about development.

Then we have the Deputy President, who opts to use the MHF Management Committee platform to hit out at this blogger, when in reality he knows next to nothing about Malaysian hockey, besides wearing his coat and trying to look important.

The Deputy President was quoted as saying in a Malay tabloid - that Stephen van Huizen has nothing to worry and that his contract has been renewed.

Well, Mr. Deputy President - need I remind you that Stephen has been released by his employers CIMB until 2012 and there is no question of you renewing his contract. Unless of course you are the self declared Chairman of the Coaching Committee.

And I do hope that the Deputy President learns to check his facts before making statements as in the same newspaper he was quoted as saying that Malaysia will be playing in an invitational tournament in France.

In treality, since that Deputy President is grossly unaware, the Malaysian team will be playing in the Champions Challenge II in Paris next July and not in a friendly tournament. There is nothing friendly about it.

Coming back to changes, while administratively things should improve, the mindset of those elected or re-elected will remain the same. They view this blog as a threat, as one that damages Malaysian hockey, but just how many states are represented in the MHL?

Holding on to a positions or campaigning is easy but getting down to do work is the difficult part as lip service can work in a two year term, but for a four year term its work that will show, not just sitting in cushy chairs and making sweeping statements.

WILL DARREN COACH MALAYSIA?

Darren Smith, the coach of UniKL comes with impressive credentials. He fields questions on what his expectations are in the MHL and also is frank on his views about Malaysian hockey. He also touches on the issue of coaching the national team in this interview. Read on...

Read more...www.tnbmhl.com.my, the UNOFFICIAL website

MHL WEBSITE NOW ONLINE

The battle for the MHL supremacy starts on December 17, but for UniKL coach Darren Smith, the past month has been spent on getting his soldiers primed for the arduous task ahead.

Darren, who is also the assistant coach of the New Zealand squad, arrived in Malaysia last month to prepare the UniKL side for the MHL and having spoken to him when he first arrived and after a month of training his charges, one could see the optimism he has for his bunch of youngsters. 

Read more...www.tnbmhl.com.my