The Malayan Hockey Council with the Amateur Athletics Union of Malaya met at the PWD Sports Club in Cheras, Kuala Lumpur on Aug 15, 1953 at 11.20am. The meeting ended 35 minutes and the Federation of Malaya Olympic Council was formed.
But come this Saturday, the founder member of OCM, a body formed before the country gained independence,will be dealt a final blow, in other words cease to exist.
For it was in 1947 in Kuala Lumpur, delegates from the Hockey Associations of Penang, Perak, Selangor, Negeri Sembilan, Malacca, Johor and Singapore met where Singapore HA President Sir George E.N. Oehlers formally proposed, “That a body governing the game of Hockey in the Federation of Malaya and in the Colony of Singapore be formed and that such a body be called the Malayan Hockey Council”. Sir George was elected the first president.
The Malayan Hockey Federation, with Singapore going their separate way, was formed in 1954 with Herman Marie De Souza was elected president and Kandiah Aryaduray the secretary. Sir Gerald Templer, the supremo of Malaya and Sir Donald MacGillivray the High Commisioner of the Federation of Malaya, were roped in as Patrons.
Malaya were ready for their first international outing, the 1956 Melbourne Olympics and have never looked back since.
Sadly when delegates of the current Malaysian Hockey Federation meet this Saturday to vote at the extra ordinary general meeting to dissolve MHF and let Malaysian Hockey Confederation take over the running of the sport, none of those who initiated the formation of MHF or kept it alive all these years have been invited to attend the meeting as guests.
It is sad the way MHF is being buried so as to safeguard the interest of some, but the blatant disregard to invite those who stood by MHF through thick or thin have been forgotten as Malaysian Hockey supposedly heralds a new era.
Personalities in the likes of Tan Sri Alagendra, Dato G. Vijinathan, S.Perampalam, Tan Sri Noordin Hassan, Dato Mohd Nor Ismail, and even past presidents in the likes of Sultan Azlan Shah, Raja Nazrin, and Tan Sri Anwar have been left out.
Was it a mammoth task for the current set of officials to invite the older generation, the elder statesman who served diligently, without fear or favour to witness this historic moment?
It is sad that we tend to forget the contributions of the founder members as we rush blindly into doing something to please the Caucasian and in the process neglect our own.
And if one was to remember correctly, Sultan Azlan Shah and Tan Sri Alagendra were unanimously elected as the lifetime honorary President and Deputy of the old MHF. Guess that honor too will be buried when the death blow is delivered this Saturday.
RIP MHF for the true hockey lovers will never forget who the men that made hockey count in this great nation of ours.
Presidents of Malaysian Hockey Federation from 1957 to current:
1. Tun Abdul Razak (1957-1976)
2. HRH Sultan Azlan Shah (1976-2004)
3. DYTM Raja Dr. Nazrin Shah (2004-2006)
4. Admiral Tan Sri Dato' Seri Mohammad Anwar Mohammad Nor (19th. Dec 2006-1st. Nov 2008)
5. KDYTM Tengku Abdullah Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah (1st. Nov 2008-current)
